BANJA LUKA (Bosnia and Herzegovina), December 27 (SeeNews) – The European Union (EU) delegation to Bosnia has expressed concerns about the state of rule of law in the country after the arrest of the father of a local youth who died in mysterious circumstances in Banja Luka in March.
The turn of events in Banja Luka sends a negative and alarming signal about the state of the rule of law in Bosnia, the EU delegation said in a statement on Tuesday after the arrest of Davor Dragicevic caused brief clashes between protesters and police in Banja Luka.
"We will continue to follow the events very closely and urge all to stay calm," the EU delegation said.
Davor Dragicevic, father of 21-year old David Dragicevic, whose body was found in the shallow waters of the Crkvena river in the very centre of Banja Luka in March, was released shortly after being taken into custody in the city on Wednesday after he failed to appear for questioning related to the death of his son.
The arrest of Davor Dragicevic sparked anti-government protests in Banja Luka, the administrative centre of the Serb Republic entity, and in Bosnia's capital Sarajevo, with demands that the police put an end to unsolved murders and corruption in its ranks. The protesters expressed solidarity with Davor Dragicevic and Muriz Memic, the father of Dzenan Memic, who presumably died in a car crash in 2016.
"Ambassador Wigemark and Ambassadors of all EU Member States present in Bosnia and Herzegovina recently met with Davor Dragicevic and Muriz Memic. We commend their tireless efforts to peacefully seek out justice for the deaths of their sons. It is striking that two fathers in search of justice for their dead sons have mobilized more outcry against lack of rule of law and impunity in BiH than any political party has managed to do," the EU delegation to Bosnia said in the statement.
According to local media reports, police questioned Davor Dragicevic for allegedly "endangering security" with a protest during the election in parliament of a new Bosnian Serb government, dominated by the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats (SNSD) led by Bosnian Serb nationalist leader Milorad Dodik earlier this month.
In a statement on Wednesday, the opposition Party of Democratic Progress accused SNSD of repression over the Dragicevic family and demanded the recently elected prime minister of the Serb Republic, Radovan Viskovic, to immediately dismiss interior minister Dragan Lukac.
Bosnia and Herzegovina is made up of two entities - the Serb Republic and the Federation - as well as the Brcko District, an autonomous administrative unit under the country's sovereignty.