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The Bosnian state court on Thursday found Vojin Pavlovic, the head of the Eastern Alternative NGO, guilty of breaching legislation banning genocide denial and the glorification of war criminals – the first sentence of its kind in the country.
The court found that Pavlovic organised a rally in Bratunac on July 11, 2023 – the anniversary of the Srebrenica genocide – for which he made posters with the slogan: “July 11 – the liberation day of Srebrenica, thank you to the Bosnian Serb Army.”
The court also found that Pavlovic put up a banner celebrating the birthday of former Bosnian Serb military chief Ratko Mladic, who the Hague Tribunal convicted of genocide and other wartime crimes, knowing that he was glorifying a war criminal and that this could cause fear and feelings of insecurity among Bosniak locals.
Pavlovic was sentenced to a total of two-and-a-half years in prison.
The verdict was a first-instance ruling and can be appealed.
Presiding judge Goran Radevic said the court believes that the verdict represents an important milestone in tackling genocide denial and the glorification of war criminals.
“The truth about Srebrenica and the verdict convicting Ratko Mladic are legal and historical facts, and genocide denial is not only unacceptable, but also an act punishable by law,” Radevic said.
He said that the verdict was not intended to target any specific ethnic group or entity, but “an irresponsible individual”. He argued that it was the minimum that a democratic society owes to war victims and survivors.
The court established that Bosniaks who returned to live in the area after the war saw the Mladic banner and that it made them feel fear and a sense of insecurity.
Radevic said that such actions could lead to the incitement of ethnic, racial or religious hatred, discord or intolerance – an offence under the law.
“Freedom of expression cannot be an excuse for denying genocide and war crimes,” he said.
The genocide denial legislation was imposed in July 2021 by Valentin Inzko, who at the time was Bosnia and Herzegovina’s High Representative, the international official responsible for overseeing the implementation of the peace deal that ended the 1992-95 war.
