Defence Ministry terminates contracts of two soldiers who honoured the legacy of convicted Bosnian Serb war criminal.

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Bosnia’s Defence Minister Zukan Helez at a military ceremony in Sarajevo, December 2023. Photo: EPA/FEHIM DEMIR.

Bosnia’s Defence Minister Zukan Helez on Thursday officially signed the dismissal papers of two soldiers following an internal probe into “ethno-nationalist misconduct” within the Armed Forces.

The two were part of a broader group of 37 military personnel Helez reported to the Prosecutor’s Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina this month for activities that glorified the late Bosnian Serb warlord Ratko Mladic.

Mladic died last month in a UN jail in The Netherlands, aged 84, while serving a prison sentence for genocide and other wartime crimes, and was buried with military honours in Belgrade, Serbia.

“While I am the Minister of Defence of Bosnia and Herzegovina, there will be absolutely no tolerance for the glorification of war criminals within the Armed Forces,” Helez stated, following the dismissals.

“Our military must remain an institution of ultimate trust for every single citizen – an organisation that firmly respects victims, legal frameworks, and the values of long-term peace,” he added.

Out of the 37 initial complaints about the glorification of Mladic by servicemen, ten cases have been qualified as criminal offences and forwarded to state prosecutors along with supporting evidence.

The remaining cases have been redirected to the judiciary to determine whether deeper criminal responsibility exists under domestic laws.

Under Bosnia’s criminal code, the public denial of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes established by binding international and domestic courts is illegal. Guilty verdicts incur a prison sentence of up to five years.