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The Bosnian defence ministry said on Tuesday that soldier Djordje Tojcic has been “reprimanded” following disciplinary proceedings for praising Ratko Mladic in a post on Instagram.
On the day that the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia in The Hague handed down Mladic’s verdict in November last year, Tojcic published a picture of the Bosnian Serb Army commander’s military cap from the war on his Instagram page with a caption saying that “Europe knows, but will not admit, the general fought against terrorism”.
Tojcic also added the message: “Thank you for everything!!”
The disciplinary proceedings were initiated after an article on Tojcic’s post about Mladic was published by BIRN Bosnia and Herzegovina.
“The procedure against soldier Djordje Tojcic was completed with the imposition of a ‘reprimand’ disciplinary measure against the perpetrator of a violation of military discipline,” the defence ministry said.
The ministry also said that it was trying to prevent similar incidents in the future.
“Enhanced measures aimed at preventing similar incidents have been undertaken, among other things, by issuing an additional warning and detailed instructions on how members of Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina should behave on social networks in accordance with the existing rules and documents referring to this field,” the ministry said.
Tojcic is not the only member of Bosnia’s armed forces who has glorified war crimes defendants or convicts.
Seven further cases of armed forces members who have praised people convicted by the Hague Tribunal on social networks have been detected, according to the defence ministry.
“Following disciplinary procedures against them, adequate measures were imposed on these people, depending on the severity of the wrongdoings committed, in accordance with the applicable regulations of the Ministry of Defence and Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina,” the ministry said.
The Hague Tribunal found Ratko Mladic guilty of genocide and other wartime crimes. He is appealing the verdict.
