Unpunished Attacks and Unexplained Murders: Can Amendments to the Criminal Code Finally Protect Returnees?

(Patria) - At the session scheduled for October 15, the House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina will consider the Bill on Amendments to the Criminal Code of BiH, which introduces a special criminal offense – an attack on a returnee. This has been discussed for a long time, and we will soon know if such a proposal can get the necessary majority.

The proposed amendments precisely define the term returnee as a person who has returned to their place of pre-war residence and lives there, while a new Article 146a introduces sanctions for attacks, threats, abuse, and gross insults against returnees. The prescribed penalties range from three months to five years in prison, depending on the severity of the offense.

This bill comes at a time when numerous incidents in returnee communities, especially in the Republika Srpska entity, remain unprosecuted.

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threats and physical attacks, but rarely have they ended with a court verdict. In some cases, even the murders of returnees have not been fully clarified.

Therefore, the key question arises: can this law truly contribute to the greater safety of returnees and reverse the practice of impunity, especially in areas where institutions have ignored ethnically motivated attacks for years?

The parliamentary debate on October 15 will be an important test of political will to make the issue of protecting returnees a real priority for the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

(A.Č.Z.)