Balkan Legal News

The following media round up on international, legal and foreign policy issues from around the Balkans for the period from 18 April to 21 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.

Bosnia and Herzegovina – 18 April 2022

Ex-soldiers Zoran and Radenko Ilic went on trial at the Bosnian state court in Sarajevo for participating in the illegal detention and forced disappearance of 16 Bosniak civilians. The full article can be found here.

Croatia – 18 April 2022

General Marinko Krešić stated on Sunday that he withheld his signature at the request of President Zoran Milanović to pardon Josip Perković and Zdravko Mustač, former Yugoslav and Croatian intelligence agents, sentenced by a German court to life for assisting in the murder of a Croatian dissident. The full article can be found here.

Montenegro – 18 April 2022

The ex-president of Montenegro’s Supreme Court, Vesna Medenica, was arrested for abuse of office after transcripts were published of her son saying she would protect his illegal dealings in cocaine and contraband cigarettes, media reported. The full article can be found here.

Kosovo – 20 April 2022

Miroslav Ivanovic, the brother of the murdered Oliver Ivanovic, told Pristina Basic Court that he believes that the Kosovo Serb politician was killed four years ago for political reasons. The full article can be found here.

North Macedonia – 21 April 2022

North Macedonias Ex-MP Nikola Gruevski, who was tried in absentia, was found guilty at Skopje Criminal Court of unlawfully acquiring over 1.3 million euros from his former ruling VMRO DPMNE party, and of instigating a money-laundering scheme to cover his tracks and buy property with the proceeds. The full article can be found here.

Kosovo – 21 April 2022

A Complaints Commission examining the much-criticised election of Kosovo’s new chief prosecutor found numerous discrepancies in how the candidates for the powerful post were scored, but Blerim Isufaj was unanimously endorsed anyway. The full article can be found here.

Serbia 21 – April 2022

At the latest UN Security Council meeting to discuss the UN Mission in Kosovo in New York, both Serbia and Kosovo sought to portray the other as an agent of destabilisation in light of concerns that the security situation could deteriorate in the Balkans while war is ongoing in Ukraine. The full article can be found here.

Bosnia and Herzegovina – 21 April 2022

The Bosnian state court found Dragan Vikic and three co-defendants not guilty under a first-instance verdict of committing a war crime against prisoners of war who were killed in Veliki Park in Sarajevo in the early weeks of the siege of the city on 22 April 1992. The full article can be found here.