Weekly update: 23 June - 29 June 2023

The following media round up on international, legal and foreign policy issues from around the Balkans for the period from 23 June to 29 June 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 – 28 June 2023

MPs unanimously adopted a declaration saying that the great famine known as the Holodomor, in which around four million Ukrainians died of starvation in 1932-33, was a crime of genocide committed by the Soviet authorities. The full article can be found here.

Bosnia and Herzegovina – 28 June 2023

New law rendering state-level Constitutional Court decisions invalid in Republika Srpska condemned by US embassy as 'reckless attack' on 1995 peace agreement and constitutional order. The full article can be found here.

Kosovo – 27 June 2023

Former Kosovo Liberation Army fighter Remzi Shala was convicted of kidnapping a villager suspected of collaborating with Serbian forces during the war in 1998 and was jailed for nine-and-a half years. The full article can be found here.

Bosnia and Herzegovina- 26 June 2023

The Austrian authorities extradited former Bosnian Army military policeman Nedzad Cehic, accused of involvement in the deaths of at least 25 captured Bosnian Serb Army troops in Bosanska Krupa in 1995, to Sarajevo to face trial. The full article can be found here.

Moldova – 26 June 2023

Some experts say the court ruling banning the fugitive oligarch’s party sets a dangerous precedent – which could one day be used against the pro-Western parties currently in power.. The full article can be found here.

Serbia – 26 June 2023

Court in Serbia releases three Kosovo police officers seized last week, following intervention by Serbia's ally, Hungary, and calls from both the US and EU. The full article can be found here.

Kosovo- 23 June 2023

The prosecution announced that it has charged a Kosovo Serb, who it identified only by the initials M.Dj., with participating in an attack on ethnic Albanian civilians during the war in 1999. The full article can be found here.

North Macedonia – 23 June 2023

Prosecutor’s Office said it suspected domestic prosecutors had not done their job in processing several ongoing cases against the Mayor of Struga – who was earlier put on a US corruption black list. The full article can be found here.