Bosnia and Herzegovina - August 2023

A day of mourning was held in both of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s (BiH) entities, and large-scale protests were held in Sarajevo, as well as in other towns across BiH, to call on authorities to step up their response to violence against women with slogans of “Institutions React.” The public outrage came following the murder of Nizama Hećimović, who was fatally shot by her ex-partner, Nermin Sulejmanović, in the presence of their baby in Gradačac on 11 August. Days before the attack, on 7 August, the municipal court had rejected Hećimović’s request to issue a restraining order against the perpetrator due to insufficient evidence, according to the court’s president Slobodanka Kojić, where the police report submitted to the court lacked details such as medical documentation, witness statements and criminal records. The Office of the Disciplinary Prosecutor has since initiated disciplinary proceedings against a judge of the municipal court. The murder was broadcast live on the social media platform Instagram. The perpetrator then murdered two additional people, whom he knew personally, and injured three others, including a police officer, before committing suicide.

Sources: Sarajevo Times (1), Sarajevo Times (2), Euractiv, Balkan Insight, Euronews, N1 (1), N1 (2), N1 (3), RFERL, FENA, Vijesti