Prosecutor's Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina launched a case after glorification of war criminal Slobodan Praljak

(Patria) - After a monument to the final convicted war criminal Slobodan Praljak was unveiled in Čapljina, the Prosecutor's Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina has launched a case, confirmed by that institution for Detektor.

The Prosecutor's Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina reacted today after a photo of the unveiling of a monument in Čapljina to Slobodan Praljak, a former HVO military official who died after drinking poison during the reading of the verdict in which he was found guilty of crimes in Herzegovina, spread over the weekend.

The photo shows a monument with Praljak's likeness carved into stone, on which is written: "Praljak, Croatian general," place and year of birth: "Čapljina, 1945," and year and place of death: "The Hague, 2017."

The dedication on the stone reads: "When justice falls silent and demons dance, a warrior does not kneel and begs no one. For ideals, he breathes life with his last breath."

In a video available on social media, a speech by a friar who blessed this monument can be heard.

- No one for the Muslim people in every respect during the war did as much as General Praljak did - said the friar.

No one from the Diocese in Mostar and the Parish of Čapljina responded to Detektor's calls or journalist inquiries until the publication of this text.

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Condemnations for glorification and erection of a monument to war criminal Slobodan Praljak in Čapljina

(Patria) - The Institute for Research of Genocide Canada (IGC) most strongly condemns the event held on November 2, 2025, in Čapljina, during which the figure and work of the final convicted war criminal Slobodan Praljak was glorified and a monument was unveiled

The President of the Association of Camp Inmates Mostar, Emir Hajdarević, says he is disappointed with the work of the judiciary in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and expects that after some time the Prosecutor's Office will say that "unknown" persons placed that monument.

- Victims absolutely do not trust such a Prosecutor's Office, nor the institutions that should enforce justice in Bosnia and Herzegovina, they are not enforcing it, unfortunately, because they are under the influence of daily politics - he added.

The Hague Tribunal in November 2017 convicted Praljak along with five other high officials of the so-called Croatian Community of Herceg-Bosna and sentenced him to 20 years in prison.

Praljak was a former chief of the Main Staff of the Croatian Defense Council. During the reading of the verdict, Praljak drank poison and died the same day.

Amendments to the Criminal Code of Bosnia and Herzegovina, imposed in July 2021 by the former High Representative, in addition to banning the denial of genocide and other war crimes, made punishable - with at least three years in prison - the awarding of recognitions, awards, monuments, or any reminder to a person convicted by a final verdict for genocide, crimes against humanity, or war crimes.

For Hajdarević, the erection of a monument to Praljak is a reflection of the state of the country in which war criminals are glorified and victims are humiliated.

- Herzegovina is very often forgotten, as is what daily politics does in that area. We live in a time when a criminal is a hero, and a victim is something else...

This is again a crime against the victims of Herzegovina committed in Čapljina, which is known for the crimes of Gabela, Silos. None of those camps have been prosecuted, and that is why all this is being done - said Hajdarević.

He added that due to the lack of prosecution of crimes in Herzegovina, such cases will become more frequent.