Landmark verdict: RS must pay one million BAM for demolition of the oldest mosque in BiH

The Municipal Court in Goražde has issued a verdict, following a lawsuit by the Islamic Community in Bosnia and Herzegovina - Medžlis IZ Ustikolina, ordering the sued Bosnian entity Republika Srpska to pay compensation for the demolition of the Turhan-Emin beg mosque in Ustikolina, the oldest mosque in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the imam's house and the IZ facility, in the total amount of 958,128 convertible marks (489,514 euros), plus statutory default interest from the date the lawsuit was filed, reports the Patria news agency.

At the law firm Hrvačić, which represented the Waqf Directorate of the IZ in BiH and filed the lawsuit back in 1998, they consider this one of the most significant decisions from a legal practice standpoint, because RS has been obligated to bear the costs of demolishing the mosque and accompanying facilities in Ustikolina, and it has been established that the lawsuit was both timely and fully proven.

"This is certainly a great success for the judiciary of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and we expect that this verdict will be confirmed by the Cantonal Court and implemented as soon as possible," the law firm stated.

The outcome also satisfies the director of the Waqf Directorate of the IZ in BiH, Senaid Zajimović, although, he points out, the Directorate is aware that this is only the beginning and expects the legal battle to continue before higher courts.

The material amount is the least important

"I hope it stays this way. If it doesn't, then we must use other legal remedies to fight for it, but also for other mosques. Because one final verdict becomes case law. We must not give up on that, because it is our obligation to compensate, at least in this way, for everything that the criminal hand destroyed," he emphasizes.

"The next instances are the Constitutional Court [of Bosnia and Herzegovina], and after that Strasbourg [European Court of Human Rights]. Strasbourg will increasingly be our address for filing various lawsuits, or for concluding certain proceedings. I think they will appeal, and we will go all the way with appropriate legal remedies, because that is the fate of such politically motivated cases."

For the Mufti of Goražde, Remzija ef. Pitić, this verdict is important for several reasons, the first and foremost being that it has been proven who is responsible for the demolition of the mosque in Ustikolina.

"Another important reason is that the verdict confirms that the demolition of a mosque is a crime. Unfortunately, we live in an environment where even that needs to be proven and established. What is taken for granted in the civilized world, that the demolition of religious buildings constitutes a crime, we, in the environment we live in, must also prove and establish," reports Al Jazeera.