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Serbia: A Year of Denying War Crimes

Serbia: A Year of Denying War Crimes
BalkanInsight_logoWar criminals were celebrated, verdicts convicting Serbs were questioned and atrocities were denied, while Serbian prosecutors again failed in 2019 to indict any high-ranking suspects for crimes committed in the 1990s conflicts.

On May 9, retired Yugoslav Army general Vladimir Lazarevic, a convicted war criminal, headed a World War II Victory Day parade through the streets of the southern Serbian city of Nis. The showpiece event was organised by Russian war veterans with the backing of the Serbian authorities.

Lazarevic’s prominent role in the parade highlighted how in 2019, Serbian officials continued their practice of celebrating war criminals as military heroes.


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Bosnian War Crime Cases Halted as Ageing Defendants Die

Bosnian War Crime Cases Halted as Ageing Defendants Die
BalkanInsight_logoAround 20 people indicted for 1990s wartime crimes in Bosnia have died over the past five years, causing the cases to be halted, while ten more cases are at a standstill because the defendants are ill.

More than two decades have gone by since the end of the 1990s war in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the passing years have taken an increasing toll on war crimes cases.

Around 20 indicted suspects have died over the past five years without any final verdict being delivered in their cases, causing consternation among war victims’ associations, who have expressed anger that justice has not been done.

The Bosnian state court also said that ten cases were currently at “a standstill” due to defendants’ illnesses.


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