The following media round up on international, legal and foreign policy issues from around the Balkans for the period from 21 May to 26 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
Serbia – 21 May 2022
Defence witnesses at the trial of Danko Vladicic, who is accused of the murders of two Bosniak civilians in the village of Brod na Drini near Foca in August 1992, told Belgrade Higher Court that they saw him on a daily basis around this period in Belgrade. The full article can be found here.
Kosovo – 23 May 2022
The Kosovo Intelligence Agency, AKI, announced that the Hague-based Specialist Prosecutor’s Office wants to interview its General Inspector, Burim Ramadani, over alleged wartime and post-war crimes by the former Kosovo Liberation Army, KLA. The full article can be found here.
Bosnia and Herzegovina – 24 May 2022
Srdjan Letic, leader of the Sveti Georgije Loncari organization, was sentenced to six months in prison for causing severe bodily injuries to Cvijetin Sofrenovic. The Basic Court in Brcko allowed him to commute his sentence for a fine of 9,000 euros, the Court has confirmed.
Moldova – 24 May 2022
Former Moldovan President Igor Dodon was detained by prosecutors on four charges including corruption and treason. The Office of the Moldovan Prosecutor General opened a corruption investigation against him on May 18 on suspicion that in June 2019, Igor Dodon took a cash bribe in a black plastic bag from oligarch and political leader Vladimir Plahotniuc, who later fled Moldova. The full article can be found here.
Montenegro – 25 May 2022
The head of Montenegrin police, Zoran Brdjanin, apologised to families of victims on the 30th anniversary of the deportation of at least 66 Bosnian refugees and some ethnic Serbs from the town of Herceg Novi. The full article can be found here.
Kosovo – 26 May 2022
Kosovo-born New Yorker Mirsad Kandic faces up to life imprisonment for becoming an ISIS fighter, recruiting other ISIS fighters, and providing weapons, equipment, and battlefield intelligence to ISIS, the US Justice Department announced. The full article can be found here.
Bosnia and Herzegovina – 26 May 2022
The British Embassy in Sarajevo said that Liz Truss intends to mobilise $100 million in investments with the support of the United Kingdom in the Western Balkans by 2025, through an investment partnership plan. The full article can be found here.
Croatia – 26 May 2022
A statement was released on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Russia, Croatia and Slovenia, and the latter is also accused of "destroying bilateral relations". Croatia and Slovenia have condemned Russia's invasion of Ukraine and joined in European sanctions against Moscow. As part of those measures, Zagreb in April expelled 18 Russian diplomats and six members of administrative staff. The full article can be found here.