Balkan Legal News

The following media round up on international, legal and foreign policy issues from around the Balkans for the period from 23 March to 30 March 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.

Kosovo – 30 March 2023

Former Kosovo President Hashim Thaci and three other wartime Kosovo Liberation Army officers who became top politicians go on trial this week in The Hague, accused of brutal crimes at detention centres where their opponents were abused and killed. The full article can be found here.

Montenegro – 29 March 2023

Justice Minister Marko Kovac says the US and South Korea both seek the extradition of the fugitive founder of the collapsed cryptocurrency Terra, Do Kwon – which will only be considered when he has served his sentence in Montenegro. The full article can be found here.

Serbia – 28 March 2023

Dusan Loncar entered a not guilty plea at Belgrade Higher Court, insisting that he did not issue an order to attack the Croatian village of Lovas in October 1991, causing civilian casualties. The full article can be found here.

Croatia – 28 March 2023

Croatia’s High Criminal Court increased the sentence handed down to Lora military prison commander Tomislav Duic from eight-and-a-half to ten years in prison for war crimes against civilian detainees at the Lora military prison. The full article can be found here.

Serbia – 27 March 2023

Former Bosnian Serb Army officer Vinko Pandurevic, who was jailed for assisting the Srebrenica genocide, testified in defence of his wartime senior officer Milenko Zivanovic, saying he played no role in mass expulsions. The full article can be found here.

North Macedonia – 27 March 2023

North Macedonia will again seek to extradite its fugitive former prime minister Nikola Gruevski from Hungary, where he has obtained asylum, the Justice Minister said. The full article can be found here.

Albania – 24 March 2023

After weeks of quarrelling over illegal migration, Albania's Prime Minister Edi Rama and UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak declared that they would work together to tackle the issue. The full article can be found here.

Serbia – 23 March 2023

The Belgrade-based Humanitarian Law Centre urged Serbia to start prosecuting surviving members of notorious criminal Zeljko ‘Arkan’ Raznatovic’s Serbian Volunteer Guard for their role in wartime crimes in Bosnia and Croatia. The full article can be found here.