BIRN Fact-Check: Is the Bosnian Serb Report on the Sarajevo Siege Accurate?
A report funded by the government of Bosnia’s Serb-dominated Republika Srpska entity claims Serbs were subjected to ethnic cleansing in wartime Sarajevo, but its allegations differ from facts established by...
Bosnia Under Pressure to Adopt Srebrenica Genocide Denial Law
After the latest in a decade-long series of unsuccessful attempts to pass a law banning the denial of the Srebrenica genocide, Bosnia and Herzegovina’s top international official could take action...
As Ukraine Conflict Intensifies, Serb Volunteers Prepare for Battle
Serbs who fought for Moscow-backed militias in the conflict in eastern Ukraine say they are ready to take up arms again as a massive Russian military build-up on the border...
Balkan States Under Pressure to Prosecute Financiers of Terrorism
Since hundreds of Balkan extremists went abroad to fight for Islamic State and other militant groups, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia have come under increased international...
Cyber-Attacks a Growing Threat to Unprepared Balkan States
Balkans states might be prepared on paper, but in practice they are struggling to confront the growing threat from cyber-attacks. Bosnia doesn’t have a state-level strategy.
Bosnian War Rape Survivors ‘Still Afraid to Speak Out’
Mirsada Tursunovic, who was raped by a soldier at a detention camp during the Bosnian war, explains how it took 17 years to overcome her fear of being socially ostracised...
Slow Pace of Balkan Repatriation Leaves Over 100 Children in Syrian Camps
Since the fall of the Islamic State ‘caliphate’, piecemeal efforts by Balkan states to repatriate their nationals from refugee camps in Syria means more than 100 children are still living...
Balkan States Failing to Address Threat from Far-Right Extremism
Laws and counter-terrorism strategies in the Balkans demonstrate a failure on the part of governments to take seriously the threat from far-right extremism, according to a BIRN analysis.
Delays Continue to Dog Bosnian Counter-Terrorism Policy
Bosnia lags behind the rest of the Western Balkans in terms of its strategy on countering terrorism, particularly how to handle fighters returning from foreign wars.
Pandemic Slows Search for Bosnian War Missing
The COVID-19 pandemic slowed the work of Bosnia’s Missing Persons Institute in 2020 and halted it completely for two months, leading to a drop in the number of victims found...
Bosnia: Peace Anniversary Year Sees War Crimes Trial Slowdown
Bosnia and Herzegovina marked the 25th anniversary of the Dayton Peace Accords that ended the 1990s war - but amid the pandemic, the slow process of prosecuting the crimes committed...
Suing to Silence: Lawsuits Used to Censor Bosnian Journalists
Public officials are behind the overwhelming majority of defamation cases brought against Bosnian journalists, dragging them through expensive and often lengthy court proceedings that make many think twice about the...