The following media round-up on international, legal and foreign policy issues from around the Balkans for the period from 10 to 18 February 2025. Guernica 37 will provide weekly media updates with a focus on Bosnia and Hercegovina, 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.
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Kosovo – 17.02.2025.
Richard Grenell, former U.S. envoy to Kosovo, has criticized the ongoing detention and war crimes trial of Kosovo's ex-President Hashim Thaçi at The Hague, describing it a "wrongful imprisonment." Grenell contends that Thaçi's prosecution undermines Kosovo's sovereignty and stability. Thaçi, a key figure in Kosovo's independence movement, has been on trial since April 2023.
Serbia – 15.02.2025.
On Serbia’s Statehood Day, tens of thousands gathered in Kragujevac for a student-led anti-corruption protest, while the Serbian president staged a pro-government counter-rally in Sremska Mitrovica.
Albania – 14.02.2025.
Tirana Mayor Erion Veliaj and his wife, Ajola Xoxa, have been arrested on corruption and money laundering charges, with the SPAK-led case threatening the ruling Socialist Party’s prospects in the May elections.
Bosnia and Herzegovina – 14.02.2025.
Bosnian prosecutors have requested custody for Vidoje Blagojević, a former Bosnian Serb Army wartime brigade commander previously convicted by the ICTY, who now faces new war crimes charges.
Serbia – 14.02.2025.
Serbian authorities have arrested four ministerial inspectors on charges of negligence related to a January fire at a retirement home near Belgrade that resulted in eight fatalities.
Montenegro – 14.02.2025.
Over two decades after the unsolved murders of high-ranking Montenegrin security officers Goran Žugić and Darko Raspopović, investigations suggest potential links to organized crime, yet no perpetrators have been identified.
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Kosovo – 13.02.2025.
Former KLA commander Sylejman Selimi told Hashim Thaci's war crimes trial in The Hague that the guerrilla force's General Staff was 'non-existent' for much of the war in Kosovo and its members rarely met.
North Macedonia – 13.02.2025.
Constitutional Court tells parliament to revise criminal code changes passed by last government which resulted in many important corruption cases expiring.
Bosnia and Herzegovina – 12.02.2025.
Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Constitutional Court suspended a controversial law allowing Republika Srpska to display foreign symbols like the Serbian flag in its institutions, citing concerns over sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Serbia – 12.02.2025.
Arrest of former boss of state energy company and 14 others follows promise by Serbia's president to crack down on official corruption amid continuing mass protests.
Albania – 10.02.2025.
Democratic Party says it is 'honoured' that Chris LaCivita, co-manager of Donald Trump's successful campaign for the US presidency, will lead the party's campaign for the May parliamentary elections.