Formed on May 19 last year, but no indictment: What is the BiH Prosecutor's Office still waiting for regarding Kraljević's denial of genocide

By: A. Čorbo-Zećo

Although a case was formed against the Mayor of Vlasenica Municipality, Miroslav Kraljević, on May 19 last year due to suspicion of the criminal offense of denial of genocide, war crimes, and glorifying convicted war criminals, no indictment has been filed to date, nor has any substantive explanation been offered to the public.

Kraljević did not fall into the December 'prosecutorial norm boost' either, and instead of a legal reaction, there is silence. Instead of a clear message that the law applies to everyone, bureaucratic procrastination, which is becoming the rule, not the exception, increasingly indicates the winds blowing in the Prosecutor's Office led by Milanko Kajganić.

The BiH Prosecutor's Office previously stated that "activities are being carried out to examine the allegations" and that the public will be informed "when a prosecutorial decision is made." However, in a country where glorifying Radovan Karadžić and Ratko Mladić is a criminal offense, and their life sentences are a final international fact, the question arises: what is still being examined?

As a reminder, at a public gathering, recorded and published on the official Facebook page of the Vlasenica Municipality Info Portal, Kraljević openly expressed "great respect" for Karadžić and Mladić, calling them "glorious names." He also said:

"We are all Radovans. Just as we are all Mile Dodik today..."

Such a statement leaves no room for legal doubt; it constitutes direct glorification of convicted war criminals and relativization of genocide.

The fact that Kraljević himself is already on trial for war crimes committed against Bosniak civilians in Vlasenica, including unlawful detention, murder, sexual abuse, and torture, gives special weight to this case.

Despite all this, Kraljević remains politically untouched; he was even elected to the same position for the third time.

This approach by the BiH Prosecutor's Office cannot be viewed in isolation. It fits into a broader pattern of inaction and selective justice that is increasingly linked in public discourse to the mandate of Chief Prosecutor Milanko Kajganić. At a time when the BiH Prosecutor's Office is facing serious criticism for its slowness, lack of indictments in politically sensitive cases, and failure to respond to open denial of genocide, the Kraljević case becomes a symbol of that problem.

If the BiH Prosecutor's Office is unable or unwilling to prosecute the public, documented, and undisputed glorification of war criminals, what message does it send to the victims, and to society as a whole? That the judgments of the Hague Tribunal are a dead letter? That the law only applies when it is not politically inconvenient?

While the Prosecutor's Office "carries out activities," time works against truth, against justice, and against the elementary dignity of the victims. And the silence of the institutions in this case is no longer neutral; it is becoming complicity.