Balkan Legal News - 6 October 2023

The following media round up on international, legal and foreign policy issues from around the Balkans for the period from 29 September to 05 October 2023.

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 – 05 October 2023

Former Bosnian Serb Army soldiers pleaded not guilty to committing war crimes against Croat prisoners of war and civilians in the Travnik and Skender Vakuf areas in 1992. The full article can be found here.

Montenegro – 05 October 2023

Over the past two weeks, Montenegrin police have arrested three people wanted by Kosovo for allegedly committing war crimes against civilians in 1999, sparking criticism from pro-Serbian politicians in the country. The full article can be found here.

Bosnia and Herzegovina – 05 October 2023

Borislav Gligorevic, a former member of the White Eagles unit, went on trial for crimes against humanity, accused of raping three women prisoners in the village of Liplje near Zvornik in 1992. The full article can be found here.

Kosovo – 05 October 2023

NATO has said it has no intention in taking over policing responsibilities in the Serb-majority north of Kosovo, after Albania’s PM, Edi Rama, called for its peacekeeping mission in Kosovo, KFOR, to increase its presence in the region. The full article can be found here.

Serbia – 04 October 2023

Belgrade court rejects call to detain Milan Radoicic – who has admitted organising the September 24 armed attack in a village in northern Kosovo – but orders him not to leave country and confiscates his passport. The full article can be found here.

North Macedonia – 03 October 2023

North Macedonia’s Defence Ministry says it has launched a legal procedure to finally build three memorials to members of the security forces who were killed during the 2001 armed conflict with ethnic Albanian rebels. The full article can be found here.

Kosovo – 02 October 2023

Ekrem Bajrovic, an ethnic Bosniak who was a member of Serbian forces during the Kosovo war in 1998-99, pleaded not guilty in Pristina to involvement in crimes including the beating, torture and killing of civilians. The full article can be found here.

Kosovo – 02 October 2023

Britain is to send 200 more troops to keep the peace in Kosovo after an armed attack by Serb militants on September 24 raised the spectre of a wider conflict. The full article can be found here.