Balkan Legal News

The following media round up on international, legal and foreign policy issues from around the Balkans for the period from 31 March to 7 April 2022.

Guernica 37 will provide weekly media updates with a focus on Bosnia and Herzegovina, 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- 31 March 2022

The Serbian government reacted angrily after Kosovo’s Supreme Court upheld a verdict sentencing Zoran Djokic to 12 years in jail for committing war crimes in the city of Peja/Pec in 1999. The full article can be found here.

Montenegro – 31 March 2022

Montenegrin Deputy Prime Minister Dritan Abazovic called for restrictive measures on media that publish fake news, stating that it will be a task for his new minority government. The full article can be found here.

Serbia – 1 April 2022

Belgrade Higher Court acquitted policeman Milan Dumanovic and Mladen Trbovic of disclosing an official secret by giving a TV interview about secretly recording the Srebrenica commemoration in 2015. The full article can be found here.

Bosnia and Hercegovina- 4 April 2022

Nikola Koprivica, who is suspected of committing a crime against humanity in the village of Novoseoci, where over 40 Bosniaks were executed in 1992, has been extradited from Canada to Bosnia and Herzegovina. The full article can be found here.

Kosovo – 4 April 2022

Kosovo is being criticised for not prosecuting war crimes fast enough. In a report on war crime prosecutions, published by the Humanitarian Law Centre Kosovo, said that only one new indictment has been raised in 2021, only two people were arrested on suspicion of war crimes, while five cases were ongoing in the courts. The full article can be found here.

Serbia- 5 April 2022

Organised crime prosecutors said that the chief of police in Novi Sad has been arrested on charges of abuse of office and trading in influence to shield a businessman from investigation. The full article can be found here.

Serbia- 7 April 2022

Former inmates of the notorious Lora prison camp near Split, Croatia, condemned the Split Court verdict that sentenced the former prison commander and one of the guards only for crimes committed in a couple of months in 1992. The full article can be found here.

Kosovo- 7 April 2022

The European Union has expressed concern about the election of Blerim Isufaj as Kosovo’s new Chief Prosecutor. Local civil society organisations have urged President Vjosa Osmani to consider the apparent defects of the process when she decides to decree the decision or not. The full article can be found here.