Balkan Legal News

The following media round up on international, legal and foreign policy issues from around the Balkans for the period from 29 July to 4 August 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 – 29 July 2022

Former President Hashim Thaçi started to set up a Truth and Reconciliation Commission to establish the facts about the Kosovo conflict, but after he resigned to face war crimes charges, the initiative has faltered. The full article can be found here.

Bosnia and Herzegovina – 29 July 2022

The Bosnian state court announced that Serbian citizen Boro Tomic, who is accused of committing war crimes in Croatia, was put into temporary custody. The court stated that it made the decision based on an Interpol ‘red notice’, issued on the request of Croatia. The full article can be found here.

Bosnia and Hercegovina – 2 August 2022

The prosecution appealed against the verdict acquitting Dragan Vikic, the wartime commander of a Bosnian interior ministry police unit in besieged Sarajevo, of involvement in the killing of eight Yugoslav military prisoners in 1992. The full article can be found here.

Albania – 2 August 2022

The ruling Socialist Party has proposed legal changes after media claims that ex-president and opposition leader Ilir Meta was a Communist-era secret police collaborator – but the opposition says false allegations are being used for political gain. The full article can be found here.

Serbia – 3 August 2022

Bozidar Delic, who commanded the Yugoslav Army’s 549th Motorised Brigade, which was involved in large-scale killings during the Kosovo conflict, was elected as one of the seven vice-presidents of new Serbian parliament. The full article can be found here.

Bosnia and Hercegovina – 3 August 2022

The defence lawyer for Veljko Papic, the wartime commander of the Third Company of the Bosnian Serb Army’s Sarajevo-Romanija Corps’ First Battalion, said that an appeal has been filed against the verdict jailing him for two years for crimes against the civilian population in Sarajevo in 1993 and 1994. The full article can be found here.

Croatia – 3 August 2022

Tensions between Zagreb and Belgrade have risen ahead of this week’s 27th anniversary of the Croatian Army’s victorious Operation Storm offensive, while efforts for reconciliation have suffered a setback and war crimes prosecutions remain stalled. The full article can be found here.

Romania – 4 August 2022

The former president of Romania, Ion Iliescu, faces trial once again in the case of the 1989 Romanian Revolution, which overthrew the communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu after military prosecutors re-sent the case file to the court. The full article can be found here.