Balkan Legal News

The following media round up on international, legal and foreign policy issues from around the Balkans for the period from 15 September to 23 September 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.

Montenegro – 22 September 2022

The Montenegrin government has asked for foreign experts’ help in solving old cases of attacks on journalists, saying experts from the FBI and other intelligence services will be hired as consultants. The full article can be found here.

Albania – 22 September 2022

A report by the FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, CISA, published, on the wave of hacking attacks in Albania, says Iranian attackers gained access to Albanian systems some 14 months ago, long before the actual attacks started. The full article can be found here.

Kosovo – 21 September 2022

The head of Kosovo’s Specialist Chambers in the Hague, Ekaterina Trendafilova, set the end of this year or the start of 2023 as a possible date for the start of the war crimes trial of former Kosovo Liberation Army leaders Hashim Thaci, Kadri Veseli, Jakup Krasniqi and Rexhep Selimi. The full article can be found here.

Bosnia and Herzegovina – 19 September 2022

Prosecutor Behaija Krnjic told the Bosnian State Court in Sarajevo that it had been proved without doubt that Radovan Veljovic, a wartime soldier with the Bosnian Serb Army raped a woman in May 1992 and should be convicted of committing a crime against humanity. The full article can be found here.

Albania – 19 September 2022

Lawyers of Ahmet Emre Olur, the media spokesperson of exiled Turkish mafia leader Sedat Peker, said his swift extradition from Albania to Turkey broke Albanian law and ignored his right to claim political asylum. The full article can be found here.

Serbia – 19 September 2022

The Belgrade Higher Prosecution Office said it will “take all measures and actions within its jurisdiction, “ to identify and prosecute those who attacked participants, journalists and police at a banned Euro Pride gathering in Belgrade. The full article can be found here.

Bosnia and Herzegovina – 16 September 2022

The Cantonal Court in the city of Mostar has sentenced former Bosnian Army military policeman Zijad Padalovic to seven-and-a-half years in jail for crimes against prisoners of war in Buturovic Polje, near Konjic, in September 1993. The full article can be found here.

Kosovo – 15 September 2022

Former Kosovo Liberation Army unit chief Salih Mustafa’s lawyer asked the Hague-based war crimes court to acquit his client, arguing that the evidence didn’t prove that he illegally detained, tortured and killed prisoners in 1999. The full article can be found here.