Balkan Legal News – 30 July 2025
- Ned Vucijak
- Jul 30
- 2 min read
Updated: Aug 6
The following media round-up on international, legal and foreign policy issues from around the Balkans for the period from 23 July to 29 July 2025.
Guernica 37 will provide weekly media updates with a focus on Bosnia and Hercegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia. Should you wish to contribute or submit a media summary, opinion piece or blog, please send to Ned Vucijak at nenadv@guernica37.com for consideration.
Kosovo – 28 July 2025
The third-ever war crimes verdict issued in absentia in Kosovo sentences two former members of the Serbian police force to 15 years in prison for the rape of a Kosovo Albanian woman in May 1999. The full article can be found here.
Serbia – 28 July 2025
Serbia has done little to implement European standards in handling cases of sexual violence against women, meaning survivors who report their abusers face a long and often humiliating path to justice, forced to repeatedly relive their ordeal. Many more choose silence. The full article can be found here.
Kosovo - 28 July 2025
Speculation has swirled for years over Kosovo’s 2021 decision to withdraw an arrest warrant for Kosovo Serb powerbroker Milan Radoicic over the murder of fellow Serb politician Oliver Ivanovic. The full article can be found here.
Croatia – 28 July 2025
Ahead of the 30th anniversary of the military operation, a study by research group Documenta lists 2,353 victims – mostly Serbs – and calls for 'mutual recognition' of the suffering on both sides during the Croatian war. The full article can be found here.
Kosovo – 25 July 2025
Kosovo’s former president gave a rare interview from detention, saying he does not regret helping to establish the Hague court that is now trying him for war crimes. The full article can be found here.
Bosnia and Herzegovina – 25 July 2025
The Bosnian state court announced that its appeals chamber has upheld the first-instance verdict finding seven men guilty of the inhumane treatment, unlawful detention, torture and murder of civilians detained in Lukavac between June and October 1992. The full article can be found here.
Montenegro – 24 July 2025
At separate meetings with security bodies, Montenegro’s President and Prime Minister pledged to address growing gang violence in the country after two people were killed amid ongoing crime clan conflicts. | The full article can be found here.
Serbia – 23 July 2025
Two notorious people-smugglers based in Serbia, both previously named in BIRN investigations, are among 25 gangs and gangsters from the Balkans targeted by direct sanctions that the UK imposed on alleged migrant traffickers. The full article can be found here.