Latest News from Bosnia and Herzegovina
BIRN Wins European Press Prize for Justice Reporting
BIRN Bosnia and Herzegovina was given the European Press Prize Special Award for 2020 on Thursday for its groundbreaking work in covering transitional justice topics.
Exhibition Commemorates Suffering of Yugoslav ‘Barren Island’ Prisoners
An exhibition of new images from Goli Otok go on display at the Cultural Centre of Belgrade on Thursday evening gives a contemporary view of the former prison camp, which photographer Milomir Kovacevic described as "the biggest 'stain' on Yugoslavia, communism, the [Communist] Party and [Josip Broz] Tito".
Pan-European Decision: If Borders are Opened to Third Countries, it Wouldn’t be Before 1 July
The government extended the emergency epidemic situation by 15 days, until the end of June.
Good Neighbours: How Three Serbs Saved Bosniaks in Wartime Vlasenica
When Fikret Dzodzaljevic returns to his hometown of Vlasenica in eastern Bosnia, he always lights a candle at the grave of his former Serb neighbour, a young man called Miodrag Vrzina, who he only knew by his nickname Miki.
Ratko Mladic’s Final Verdict Postponed to 2021
The president of the Mechanism for International Criminal Tribunals in The Hague, Carmel Agius, told the UN Security Council on Monday evening that the final verdict in the Ratko Mladic trial will be delivered nine months after appeals hearings are finally held.
Computer Virus Stops Sarajevo Municipality Issuing Birth Certificates
A Sarajevo municipality has temporarily stopped issuing birth certificates due to a computer virus that locks documents in its database for the second time in some two weeks.
Art Based on Ratko Mladic’s War Diary Exhibited in Belgrade
Four hundred pages of former Bosnian Serb Army commander Ratko Mladic's war diary, painstaking redrawn by Serbian artist Vladimir Miladinovic, are going on display in Belgrade on Saturday at an exhibition entitled 'Notebook'.
NGO Charges Croatian Police With ‘Inhumane Treatment of Refugees’
A human rights NGO, the Center for Peace Studies, filed a criminal complaint on Friday to the Croatian State Attorney's Office against "unknown perpetrators" from the police, "based on a reasonable doubt of degrading treatment and torture of 33 people and their violent, illegal expulsion from the territory of the Republic of Croatia to Bosnia and Herzegovina".
Coronavirus Safeguards Stop Large-Scale Bosnian War Trials Resuming
She said that after the relaxation of the pandemic restrictions, the court decided that trials of up to five defendants could start again on June 1. Those hearings will be conducted in two biggest courtrooms in the state court building in Sarajevo, where appropriate distance between all the participants can be ensured.
14-Day Quarantine for Persons Arriving in Bulgaria from Northern Macedonia, No Quarantine for Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro
The Minister of Health issued Order which introduced a 14-day mandatory quarantine for persons arriving in Bulgaria from the Republic of Northern Macedonia.
The same order lifted the 14-day quarantine for citizens arriving from Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro.
‘Mini Schengen’: A Balkan Breakthrough or Political Stunt?
As the EU's refusal to open accession talks with Albania and North Macedonia reverberated throughout the Western Balkans, the "mini Schengen" scheme launched in the northern Serbian city of Novi Sad took on extra significance.
Bosnian Security Minister Resigns over Political Disputes
Fahrudin Radoncic told his colleagues at a session of Bosnia's Council of Ministers on Tuesday that he will submit his resignation as security minister after explaining earlier in the day that "political differences on strategic issues" with governing coalition partners were behind his reasons for quitting.
Serbia Tries Bosnian Ex-Soldier for Crimes Against Prisoners
The trial of former soldier Osman Osmanovic opened at Belgrade Higher Court on Monday with the defendant pleading not guilty to charges of abusing civilians and prisoners of war held at the Rasadnik camp in Gornji Rahic in Bosnia and Herzegovina's Brcko area during the summer of 1992.
Bosnia Cannot Allow Criminal Politicians to Play ‘Patriot’ Card
The question is what will happen next.
All eyes now turn to the notoriously inefficient public prosecutor's office, headed by Gordana Tadic, although concerns with Bosnia's prosecutors and courts long predate her tenure.
Bosnia's chief state prosecutor Gordana Tadic. Photo: detektor.ba/archive
Bosnian Serb MPs Slam Resolution on Respect for Fascists’ Victims
The Republika Srpska entity parliament adopted a statement on Monday saying that it rejects the Resolution on Respect for the Victims of the Fascist Regime and Movement that was adopted by Bosnia and Herzegovina's state-level parliament last month because it allegedly rewrites history and marginalises Serb suffering in World War II.