Returnee beaten in front of police in Vlasenica, then charged with disorderly conduct

A group of hooligans attacked a Bosniak returnee in Vlasenica on Saturday evening, after which he sustained serious injuries, reports the Patria News Agency.

Mehmed Kuljančić, a returnee to Vlasenica, told Patria that a group of about 30 Serbs attacked him and his friends, beating him next to two police cars, which contained police officers who did not react.

- A friend saved me by getting into his car and driving towards the group that was beating me – says Kuljančić. He sustained serious injuries to his head, neck, and arm, and after everything, he was also issued a misdemeanor charge because the police officers, who did not protect him, ultimately assessed that Kuljančić behaved too rudely.

- I asked them why they didn't protect me, after which one of them wrote me a misdemeanor order, stating that I behaved rudely. I didn't want to sign that charge, so they said they would take my case to court – added Kuljančić, who is outraged by the police officers' behavior. He will file a criminal complaint against the hooligans and will seek accountability from the police officers who did not provide him with assistance.

The young man was saved from an even greater tragedy half an hour later by a police officer who was in front of the police station and threatened to shoot when the hooligans attacked Kuljančić again.

- I heard that the hooligans were looking for me in town, so I went in front of the police station. A few moments later, four cars appeared in front, from which a group of young men emerged again and headed towards me. The police officer in front of the station took out his weapon and said he would shoot if the hooligans did not move away – says Kuljančić, who then sought help at the hospital in Zvornik, and on Sunday at the Clinical Center in Tuzla, where he also received a neck brace.

The Public Security Center in Bijeljina confirmed to the Patria agency that an incident occurred in Vlasenica. However, their report states that it was merely a disturbance of public order and peace in which one person sustained a minor hand injury, and another person, S. G., was detained.

The attacker S. G. is, as Patria has learned, a certain Stevan Garić, son of Rade Garić, who is accused of war crimes against the Bosniak population during 1992. Among the hooligans was also a certain Slobodan Vasiljević, also known for minor provocations and incidents.

This is the second attack on Bosniak returnees in Republika Srpska in just seven days. Earlier, a returnee in Kotor-Varoš was attacked, on whom the hooligans carved "four S" on his stomach, reports NAP.