The following media round up on international, legal and foreign policy issues from around the Balkans for the period from 10 February to 16 February 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.
Croatia – 16 february 2023
An exhumation is underway near the wartime flashpoint town of Vukovar in a village where what are believed to be 1990s war victims’ remains have been discovered. The full article can be found here.
North Macedonia – 16 February 2023
The European Court of Human Rights ruled that pardons given in 2016 by North Macedonia’s then-President Gjorgje Ivanov cannot influence the trials held of high-level politicians from the country. The full article can be found here.
Croatia – 15 February 2023
Croatian Journalists' Association condemns Prime Minister's planned changes to the Criminal Procedure Code as 'a serious threat to free journalism'. The full article can be found here.
Moldova – 14 February 2023
Serbia and Montenegro have asked for an explanation after Moldova claimed that some of their citizens might be involved in a Russian-backed plot to overthrow the pro-EU government in Chisinau. The full article can be found here.
Serbia – 14 February 2023
Predrag Koluvija, who is on trial for alleged illicit marijuana production, accuses BIRN of incorrectly reporting a past case in which he was mentioned, while the media organisation claims he is trying to silence the press. The full article can be found here.
Croatia – 13 February 2023
Telegram.hr says donation of 10,000 euros from European Centre for Press and Media Freedom ECPMF to fight wave of SLAPPs sends 'strong message that there are international institutions that we can rely on'. The full article can be found here.
Bosnia and Herzegovina – 10 February 2023
The District Court in Banja Luka on Friday sentenced Mirko Bozic and Bosiljko Markovic to seven years in prison each and Ostoja Markovic to nine years for the rape of four Croats, committed in the Kotor Varos municipality on the same day in the summer 1992. The full article can be found here.
Serbia – 10 February 2023
At the start of his trial in Belgrade for the killing of 51 non-Serbs in 1992, former reservist policeman Milorad Kotur explained how prisoners were taken from the Omarska detention camp and then shot dead. The full article can be found here.