Hurtić: Attacks on returnees must be adequately sanctioned

(Patria) - “I condemn the attack on seventy-seven-year-old elderly woman Ljeposava Petković who was brutally beaten and robbed in her family home the night before last after two
robbers broke into her house with an axe", stated Minister Sevlid Hurtić during his visit to the attacked returnee.

She is a returnee to her home in the village of Stošnica, Vozuća near Zavidovići.

"It is also terrible that she received death threats in the process, which further endangered her safety, as well as the safety of other residents. I learned here that the village of Stošnica is a peaceful place, a place of coexistence where Serb and Bosniak returnees have been living in harmony for two decades", said Hurtić.

Minister Hurtić called on the authorities to shed light on this case as soon as possible and to impose an appropriate punishment on the perpetrators
of this serious robbery.

“I also consider it necessary to increase police presence in all returnee settlements, because, unfortunately, threats to this population are usually not harmless. Their rights must not be endangered, no matter which part of Bosnia and Herzegovina they live in, because protective measures must be equally implemented at the state level. Dangerous behavior by individuals that threatens the peace and normal life of returnees must be sanctioned”.

He also reminded that this is an obligation that we must all respect according to Annex 7 of the Dayton Peace Agreement.