The following media round up on international, legal and foreign policy issues from around the Balkans for the period from 29 April to 5 May 2022.
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.
Bosnia and Herzegovina – 29 April 2022
The Bosnian state prosecution filed an indictment charging Miodrag Djurkic with persecuting non-Serb civilians on ethnic and religious grounds. The full article can be found here.
Croatia – 2 May 2022
Croatian President Zoran Milanović said that Finland and Sweden could not join NATO before the election law in Bosnia and Herzegovina was changed. The full article can be found here.
Romania – 3 May 2022
The bicameral Romanian parliament elected two new judges at the Constitutional Court – Bogdan Licu and Laura-Iuliana Scantei, both of whom are believed to be close to President Klaus Iohannis. The full article can be found here.
Kosovo – 3 May 2022
The Kosovo Specialist Prosecutor’s Office has added fresh war crime charges to the indictment of former Kosovo President Hashim Thaçi and three other guerilla Kosovo Liberation Army leaders turned politicians who have been awaiting the trial in detention in The Hague since November 2020. The full article can be found here.
Serbia – 3 May 2022
Media freedom remains a problem in the Balkan states, with journalists working in highly polarised political environments and encountering threats from criminal groups, said Reporters Without Borders' 2022 World Press Freedom Index. The full article can be found here.
Serbia – 4 May 2022
Serbia must press ahead with reforms, including on media freedom, to realise its ambition of joining the European Union, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said, adding he wanted all Western Balkans countries to become members. The full article can be found here.
Bosnia and Herzegovina – 4 May 2022
The European Parliament adopted a resolution condemning a Turkish court’s decision to sentence Turkish philanthropist and human rights activist Osman Kavala to life in prison for attempting to overthrow the government by financing protests in 2013 over Istanbul’s Gezi Park. The full article can be found here.
Montenegro – 5 May
Former Justice Ministry official says EUROPOL some months ago warned the government that it believed three Montenegrin police officers had more than 50 million euros each in their bank accounts – earned from assisting notorious drug gangs. The full article can be found here.