Weekly update: 21 July - 27 July 2023

The following media round up on international, legal and foreign policy issues from around the Balkans for the period from 21 July to 27 July 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- 27 July 2023

Croatia draft media law sounds death knell for Independent Media. With its plans for the media, Croatia’s government is taking a leaf out of Tudjman’s book. The full article can be found here.

Serbia – 27 July 2023

Belgrade Appeals Court has overturned the verdict sentencing Danko Vladicic to nine years in prison for killing a married couple in their apartment in Brod na Drini, near the Bosnian town of Foca, on August 18, 1992. The full article can be found here.

Albania- 27 July 2023

Athens has criticised the ruling of the Albanian Higher Court, which says ethnic Greek mayor-elect of Himara Fredi Beleri – who has been jailed on charges of vote-buying – must stay in prison. The full article can be found here.

Croatia- 27 July 2023

Two-thirds of the war crimes trials in Croatia involve defendants who are not in the country and are being prosecuted in their absence, raising concerns about judicial fairness, NGO Documenta said in a new report. The full article can be found here.

Moldova – 26 July 2023

Moldova's government has ordered a massive reduction in the number of Russian embassy staff in Chisinau, amid concerns about the number of antennas on the building – which some suspect are being used for espionage. The full article can be found here.

Montenegro- 24 July 2023

The former head of the Montenegrin Police, Veselin Veljovic, was arrested on Monday on the orders of the Special State Prosecutor’s Office for alleged abuse of office and membership of a criminal organisation. The full article can be found here.

Kosovo- 24 July 2023

New report from Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime says the Western Balkans has become a key gateway for Russian cash to flow illicitly across borders thanks to the weak rule of law and high presence of orgnised crime there. The full article can be found here.

Bosnia and Hercegovina- 21 July 2023

Appeal council of Bosnia’s top court jails two out of five accused of covering up evidence of the unexplained death of 22-year-old Dzenan Memic in 2016. The full article can be found here.