I (Ingrid) have a fun holiday hobby — stalking ships on Shipfinder.

This week – whilst laying on a sandy beach in a small town in the Greek Peloponnese – I wasted some time reading about the Athens Voyager, a 237 meters long oil tanker sailing under the flag of Panama, currently slowely cruising the Aegean Sea. Past Santorini and Mykonos – it’s due to arrive in the Turkish city of Canakkale tomorrow.

I am quite obsessed with such ships – from the exotic locations they set sail from and to; the loads they are carrying; to the flags the shipping companies use to obscure ownership and hence liability if anything goes wrong on the high seas. By the way, insuring an oil tanker like the Athens Voyager can cost hundreds of thousands or even millions of euros. (How these insurances are calculated is also fascinating!)

The marine insurance business has long attracted criminals. It’s logical: scuttling – deliberately sinking a ship by allowing water to flow into the hull – and then claiming the costs on the insurance, is a profitable business for all kinds of marine fraudsters.

Greece has a particular role in the crime – according to history writer Erik Brown. As ancient Greeks had insurance, they also were the first to carry out insurance fraud. Two men - Hegestratos and Sdenothemis, partners in the corn-shipping business – insured their grain for more than it was worth and planned to lose it in an accident.

The crime is still popular today. One of the biggest cases was in 2011 – a cargo vessel was attacked by “pirates” in the Gulf of Aden. Only, it was not a real, but a staged attack: a brazen attempt to collect the insurance payout. Marios Iliopoulos, the Greek owner of the ship Brilliante Virtuoso, hoped to collect $77 million from a London insurance company. A British High Court found that the attack was orchestrated. Iliopoulos has (I believe) so far not faced criminal prosecution for the attack.

Brilliante on fire. By U.S. Navy photo by Chief Intelligence Specialist Raynald Lenieux.

That brings me back to the sandy beach I am writing this from. A book recommendation – perfect for looking out over the Greek waves — “Dead in the Water: A True Story of Hijacking, Murder, and a Global Maritime Conspiracy”, brilliantly reported and written by Bloomberg reporters Matthew Campbell and Kit Chellel.

The book tells the tale of the Brilliante Virtuoso through first-hand accounts of those who lived it – from the ship’s crew and witnesses to the attacks, to David Mockett, a murdered maritime surveyor working for Lloyd’s of London, and the detectives turned private investigators seeking to solve Mockett’s murder and bring justice to his family.

Εβίβα,

Ingrid

Ps. still not done with shipping and Greece? Read this brilliant article (2020) “The Vampire Ship” – about a seizure of Europe’s largest heroin shipment - from Aleksander Clapp.

What else is new?

Gulf Investors in Bosnia – Dream or Nightmare? What about a nice villa on top of a Bosnian forest-topped mountain? Isn’t that what many dream of? Well, wake up, because an excellent new investigation by BIRN and ARIJ – coordinated by Alena Beširević – reveals how investors from the Gulf buy up land in Bosnia, then sell it, mostly to people from Kuwait. Seems legit, but it’s often simply an elaborate scam. They sell the land for new homes, but according to the law, they cannot be built. The land is, for example, meant for agriculture. In some cases, the planned villas were illegally built, in other cases the Arab buyers were left completely empty handed.

The end of Schmidt. After five years of his term as the High Representative in Bosnia-Herzegovina, the envoy tasked with overseeing the 1995 peace plan, Christian Schmidt announced he is going to step down for personal reasons. But just two weeks later he confirmed the rumors: there was enormous pressure from the US. It could be because Schmidt didn’t want a controversial gas pipeline. Or maybe because Trump wants an envoy who will abide more to his requests in general. Schmidt was unpopular with almost everybody in Bosnia anyway, so most people aren’t so sad to see him going.

The big question: who will be his successor? The name floating around is Antonio Zanardi Landi, an Italian diplomat who has held posts in Belgrade and Moscow before (and who since a few days has a Wikipedia page). But most probably the steering board, which includes delegates from the EU, will not agree. To be continued.

Republika Srpska paid Washington lobby firms. Schmidt was a target in an aggressive lobbying campaign in the U.S. paid for by Republika Srpska (RS), reporters from the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) revealed. The campaign aimed at wider goals, but Schmidt’s removal and the closure of his office was cited specifically. OCCRP analyzed U.S. Foreign Agents Registration Act filings and found that RS paid at least $8.9 million to 11 Washington lobbying firms in 2025 and 2026 to improve the image of the territory, and build support for secession.

EU’s Montenegro-language-dilemma As Montenegro edges closer to EU membership, a unique linguistic puzzle is drawing attention, writes Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.

Montenegrin is similar to Croatian (think British and American English), but language politics run deep. Because the EU guarantees that the national language of a member state becomes an official EU language, will Brussels be forced to spend millions translating duplicates, or will they find a political workaround?

A shooting in an upscale restaurant and a Serbian police scandal. A shooting in an upscale restaurant in Senjak, Belgrade, has triggered a scandal hitting Serbia’s police. According to Deutsche Welle, Belgrade police chief Veselin Milić organized a reconciliation meeting between two opposing crime clans in the restaurant in May. Instead of reconciliation, one of the criminals kills the other with a gun. Milić, DW reported, then covered up the crime. Serbian media reported that the body of the murdered man was found burned in Šimanovci, 30 kilometers from Belgrade.

Meme of the month

Whenever we question ourselves why we have a newsletter about the Balkans:

Tips of the month

Just watch these cool videos of brutalist buildings in Belgrade:

Hi, from us

We’re Ingrid & Marjolein, two journalists writing about the Balkan and beyond. One Saturday night — after a few glasses of rakija, yes — this newsletter was born. In each edition, we share stories that catch our eye, the ones that are worth reading, with our observations from reporting in the region. So grab a coffee (or a rakija) and join us.

After all these years, I (Marjolein) still can’t decide what my favorite season is to spend time in Sarajevo. The city looks so different throughout the year, but spring definitely has a special charming vibe.

(Don’t you just love my AI photo editing skills?)

Unfortunately I was a few days late to join the big party at Maršala Tita, where thousands of people gathered to celebrate that Bosnia and Herzegovina will join the World Championship. This was also the reason I talked on Dutch national radio about football for the first time (and probably last time). Unless Bosnia wins this championship, of course…

But, while strolling through the streets of the Bosnian capital, there was something else that took my attention. Something that looked like an election campaign leaflet. Mehmed Golubovic 2026, it says. But elections aren’t due until October, so that was way too early. And also, instead of a person, there is a picture of a pigeon on it.

Just some small research on the internet, taught me that this campaign is indeed for elections, for a call for change. As far as I know it is a bit unclear who is behind it, most probably an NGO, or an informal group of activists.

The only thing it refers to is SSP, the “most serious non-existent party” in Bosnia and Herzegovina. I would normally consider myself as a real political junkie – I usually love to cover elections – this time around, I caught myself being a bit apathetic for this year’s elections. Seeing the same patterns for decades now, didn’t only make me feel sad as a person, but also a bit bored. (Like being a broken record, repeating yourself.)

But this campaign sparked a glimmer of hope in me. Their posts on Instagram include the pigeon’s plans for Bosnia’s future, such as getting the first sirnica to ever be send into space and flying trains. But aside from the cool design and the jokes, it criticises the political system of Bosnia. Vote for Mehmed the pigeon, he will not disappoint you!

From Sarajevo with love,

Marjolein

What else is new?

In Serbia, the regime did something unimaginable. The Serbian police entered the Rectorate of the University of Belgrade on March 31, 2026. This action is a direct violation of university autonomy. Authorities claimed the search was part of an investigation into the tragic death of a 25-year-old student at the Faculty of Philosophy a few days earlier. The police used force to try to disperse the crowds. The University Rector, Vladan Đokić – who has supported the student movement in Belgrade - addressed the crowd from the balcony. Read his full speech here:

New drone manufacturing company in Serbia. A report by Sasa Dragojlo and Avi Scharf for BIRN, reveals Serbia is set to open a new drone manufacturing facility. The project is a joint venture between the Serbian state-owned arms dealer, Jugoimport-SDPR, and the Israeli defense titan Elbit Systems. This comes amid a massive surge in bilateral military cooperation, with Serbian arms exports to Israel increasing 42-fold since 2023.

Mines, memory and migration on Bosnia’s perilous border. This story is nominated for the European Press Prize. One of the authors is the Bosnian journalist Nidžara Ahmetašević, who wrote on her social media: “We are deeply grateful that our work — and this story in particular — has been recognized. At the same time, it’s disheartening to find myself once again reporting on minefields in Bosnia, closed borders and border violence. The scariest part of this story is that each time Croatian border police push people back into Bosnia (which is still something that is happening daily), they are sending them directly into these mine fields.”

Meme of the month

Tips of the month

Coming Wednesday 22nd of April the documentary ‘Komarnica: The Wild That Remains’ will be screened in Amsterdam. Komarnica is a canyon in Montenegro, which is threatened to be destroyed by a dam. If you want to know more: Marjolein wrote this longread for the Groene Amsterdammer. After the film, there will be a conversation with the ngo’s, scientist and filmmaker. More information on the website of Patagonia.

And if you can’t join the screening, you can also watch the docu on YouTube :)

Dubioza Kolektiv! The high-energy Bosnian band, famous for their eclectic sound and fierce political activism, had a concert in the Netherlands and of course we (total Balkan fangirls) went there. At one point they invited people on stage and it was an absolute party!

We wanted to remind you of how fantastic they really are! Formed in 2003 in Sarajevo and Zenica, they rose from the underground scene of post-war Bosnia to become popular across Europe. Listen here and definitely take a look at the videoclips, they have a vibe!

Hi, from us

We’re Ingrid & Marjolein, two journalists writing about the Balkan and beyond. One Saturday night — after a few glasses of rakija, yes — this newsletter was born. In each edition, we share stories that catch our eye, the ones that are worth reading, along with our observations from reporting in the region. So grab a coffee (or a rakija) and join us.

Ps. Because Marjolein refused to share this, and with pride, I (Ingrid) also want to tell you that Marjolein’s project ‘De 11 stemmen van Srebrenica’, which she did in collaboration with Alma Mustafic has won the ‘Meestervertellers Award’ in the Netherlands. Congrats, very well deserved!

Last month, I (Marjolein) attended the celebration of Kosovo’s 18th Independence Day in The Hague. Now that the country has officially reached “adulthood,” perhaps it is finally time for Europe’s youngest nation to shine. It is already on its way.

Recently, I explored Kosovo’s booming IT sector for NRC as an example of economic growth in this country. This only added to the sense of optimism I feel every time I visit Kosovo. My theory is that this stems partly from its youth, a generation that is deeply engaged, idealistic, and inclined toward seeking out new opportunities. Furthermore, Kosovo is starting from a position of historical hardship. While it remains one of the poorest countries in Europe, the country is steadily climbing the ladder. At a time when neighboring countries are seeing stagnation or even backsliding in democracy and anti-corruption efforts, Kosovo is actively improving. I believe that this progress gives people tangible hope that life will only continue to get better.

One day after the Independence Day festivities in The Hague, a very different chapter in Kosovo’s history unfolded. The Kosovo Specialist Chambers (KSC), a Kosovar court which is situated in The Hague as well, held its final day of closing statements in the trial against former President Hashim Thaçi and three other high-ranking KLA (UÇK) members. The KSC faces significant criticism within Kosovo and among the diaspora – it is critiqued as a “colonial” institution where foreign judges decide the fate of their freedom fighters.

Prosecutors have demanded a 45-year prison sentence for Thaçi, which experts say is remarkably high given the specific nature of the war crimes he is accused of. We will have to wait for the final verdict, but for sure this will be a landmark moment for Kosovo and the future of transitional justice.

We will certainly keep a close eye on these developments. For now, I’ll leave you with this video of Petrit Çarkaxhiu and his band performing during the Independence Day Concert in The Hague.

Faleminderit,

Marjolein

What else is new?

A fatal tram derailment in Sarajevo recently sparked mass protests in the Bosnian capital, yet the story has been largely ignored by international media. For the city’s youth, this wasn’t just an accident—it was the final straw. After days of demonstrations, here is the essential breakdown of what happened and why:

The person who passed away because of this accident is the 23 year old Erdoan. He was a young artist and the people from Javorwood Festival, a festival in Bosnia-Herzegovina, placed his work in this forest to honor him.

Podcast tip! Exposing organized crime in the Balkans is a high-stakes mission—especially when uncovering links to the Vučić regime. In the latest episode of the Protagonista podcast, hosted by investigace.cz, Stevan Dojčinović (KRIK/OCCRP) discusses the grit required to do this dangerous work:

The Balkans is known for its brain drain and negative migration balance. But perhaps the tide is turning. Approximately 10,000 Croatians are returning from abroad each year, with around 30,000 people choosing to move back to their homeland over the past three years. Interestingly, the largest wave of returnees is from Germany — once a “land of opportunity”, now grappling with economic stagnation and a rising cost of living. For many, the decision is driven by a desire for better work-life balance, family proximity, and a sense of security. The Croatian government is offering significant incentives, including self-employment grants of up to €27,000 and five-year income tax exemptions. Good deal, don’t you think?

Tips of the month

Book tip! High in Albania’s Accursed Mountains, in a village ruled by the ancient laws of the Kanun, Bekja escapes an arranged marriage by becoming a sworn virgin, renouncing her womanhood to live as a man. Her decision sets off a brutal chain of events, destroying her family and separating her from the one she loves the most.

Years later, as Bekija – who now is namedMatija – tells their story to a visiting journalist, long-buried truths come to light, along with the realisation of all that might have been. She Who Remains was longlisted for the International Booker Prize 2026.

Though fictional, this story draws from the real-world tradition of Albania’s ‘sworn virgins.’ In a bid for the independence and rights reserved for men in this patriarchal society, these women swear an oath of celibacy and adopt a male identity for life. As this cultural relic slowly vanishes, articles like those from the BBC offer an insight at the last few individuals keeping the custom alive.

Meme of the month

When reporting on the Balkans for the Dutch media, we often have to find a ‘Dutch angle’ — a specific reason why the news matters to this audience. (Simply to convince our editors that the news we want to tell is somehow relevant for the Netherlands). This time, however, the roles were reversed. Stefan, known on Twitter for his tireless promotion of Kosovo, managed to find a ‘Kosovar angle’ for the news of our new Dutch Prime Minister. Believe it or not, the Kosovar puppy even made it into a Dutch newspaper! Pretty sure this is thanks to Stefan’s investigative skills.

And then there is this person who is not a president anymore, so now he has time to work out:

Hi, from us

We’re Ingrid & Marjolein, two journalists writing about the Balkan and beyond. One Saturday night — after a few glasses of rakija, yes — this newsletter was born. In each edition, we share stories that catch our eye, the ones that are worth reading, along with our observations from reporting in the region. So grab a coffee (or a rakija) and join us.

It was a municipal court in Moldova that brought the news.

Last week, as Balkan Insight reported, a court in Chinsinau convicted three Moldovan citizens to multiple years in prison for participating in a Russian-led paramilitary training camp in Republika Srpska and Serbia. These camps were designed to incite “mass unrest” and destabilize Moldova during elections and the 2024 EU referendum.

So, what happend back in 2024 in Glamocani, a Bosnian village north of Banja Luka As reported by Irvin Pekmez & Enes Hodzic for Balkan Insight: “In September 2024, Chisinau’s intelligence service, the SIS, received information that Moldovan citizens were being trained in camps in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia by Russian instructors. The alleged goal was to create chaos during that year’s presidential elections and the simultaneous referendum on Moldova’s commitment to joining the EU, which Russia opposes.” “A month later, Moldovan police arrested several hundred people in raids.”

The defendants “pleaded not guilty to charges of plotting unrest, but admitted to attending the camp in Bosnia and Herzegovina.” “The participants were brought to the camp from Serbia, but were not told the full details before arrival. Testimonies described training in drone control. In addition to standard equipment, the drones were equipped with mechanisms for dropping smoke devices or shock bombs.”

Oh, and there is more. Apparently Russian mercenaries previously linked to the Wagner group were involved. Then there was another alleged training camp in Western Serbia, found by the Serbian police in September 2025. Balkan Insight again: “Serbian authorities said more than 150 Moldovan and Romanian citizens were trained at a holiday camp in western Serbia.” “Around the same time, Moldovan authorities launched a major series of raids targeting the network allegedly responsible for training people in Serbia, under the supervision of Russian agents, to sabotage the parliamentary elections.”

While Dodik and the Kremlin issue blanket denials, the state Prosecutor’s Office in Sarajevo is still digging. The question we have to ask is – how is this not bigger news?

Ingrid and Marjolein

Ps. The Netherlands is also seeking to expand its influence in the Balkans. But while the Kremlin is busy setting up tactical training opportunities, our own infamous Peter Gillis is exporting a different kind of chaos. Fresh off being squeezed out of the Dutch market by permit denials and mounting legal battles, the reality TV-star has set his sights on the Adriatic. Gillis is planning an expansion of nine holiday parks across Croatia.

What else is new?

Silos. A beautiful project from the Bosnian BIRN partner Detektor about ‘Silos’, the name of a place near Sarajevo where Serb and Croat civilians, who were accused of collaborating with the enemy, were kept during the war. They were tortured, humiliated and some people died from hunger. This beautifully done multimedia story sheds a light on this horrible history that is being commemorated each year on January 27.

Croatia Parcs. There are moments when we are not proud to see the Netherlands in Balkan news, and this is one of them. Dutch reality star and entrepreneur Peter Gillis has plans to open several large holiday parks in Croatia, but citizens are not amused. Gillis’s motto is “massa is kassa” – basically, centering his business around mass tourism and big dollars. The Croatian press is highlighting the issues with his business model —for example, that Gillis doesn’t have the right permits — while also digging into his criminal past.

“Massa is Kassa” star in Croatia. Peter Gillis was sentenced to one year in prison, for leading a systematic tax fraud scheme that involved hiding at least €500,000 in “black” rental income. Beyond financial crimes, he has also faced legal proceedings regarding the alleged physical abuse of his ex-partner and has seen several of his holiday parks closed by local authorities due to permit violations and organized crime concerns

Research by local Dutch broadcaster Omroep Brabant has further revealed more about Gillis’s ‘Croatia Parcs’ plans. While his website advertises exclusive private beaches and a luxury marina, Croatian law strictly prohibits private beaches, mandating that the entire coastline remains public property. Furthermore, the broadcaster found that Gillis does not own the land for eight of his nine proposed resorts — the plots are owned by the state or private individuals who have not sold — and some of the locations are situated in protected Natura 2000 nature reserves where construction is banned.

Math whizz cryptocurrency thief. The type of story that you normally only see on Netlix, only this one is real. Andean Medjedovic, a 21-year-old Canadian “math whizz” accused of stealing $65 million in cryptocurrency, has reportedly surfaced in Bosnia after slipping through a legal dragnet in Serbia. Despite a Dutch extradition request following his 2024 arrest in Belgrade, Serbian courts released him, citing insufficient evidence and light domestic sentencing. Medjedovic, who allegedly used fake passports to evade capture, remains at large as international authorities continue their search.

Foreign workers, legal mazes. The last time Marjolein visited Sarajevo, she noticed the fast growing number of foreign workers, particularly working in the service and construction sectors. Despite significant bureaucratic obstacles and restrictive government quotas, businesses increasingly depend on international labor. With public tolerance high, a Balkan Diskurs article argues that streamlining work permit processes is essential for Bosnia and Herzegovina’s economic stability as it progresses toward EU integration.

Molotov cocktails and a Montenegrian court chief convicted for abuse of position – Whilst opposition supporters kicked off this year’s first bout of political turmoil in Albania by throwing Molotov cocktails and fireworks in protest of corruption charges of PM Belinda Balluku, Montenegro Ex-Supreme Court Chief was convicted of abusing her position to protect a criminal network allegedly led by her son in a first instance ruling.

Euro’s, missing people and lines of traffic jams for the EU borders. Besides the usual political madness, there was also positive news. Bulgaria finally implemented the euro. Kosovo and Serbia signed an agreement on a long awaited commission for missing persons from the 1990’s Kosovo war. Less positive? A long line of freight traffic came to a standstill at tens of border crossings in Serbia, Bosnia and Montenegro in protest against the EU’s strict enforcement of Schengen stay limits.

Tips of the month

All Aboard the Balkan Express! 🚂 If you loved The Balkan Man podcast, it’s time to hop on a new ride. The show is evolving into the Balkan Express, and they have a new conductor! Join our new host, Marjolein, as she takes us deep into the Balkans. Expect a fresh perspective on the stories, culture, and people that make the region so vibrant.

Meme of the month

Not really a meme, but this video is so wholesome and feels peak Balkan to us, that we want to share it with you.

Hi, from us

We’re Ingrid & Marjolein, two journalists writing about the Balkan and beyond. One Saturday night — after a few glasses of rakija, yes — this newsletter was born. In each edition, we share stories that catch our eye, the ones that are worth reading, along with our observations from reporting in the region. So grab a coffee (or a rakija) and join us.

Balkan Unscripted has just completed its first full year! Thank you for reading and staying with us. We greatly appreciate it and in a few hours wish you an amazing new year ahead.

This year we started off our year reporting from Serbia, where the largest protest movement in recent memory reshaped daily life and local politics. Student-led demonstrations, triggered by the deadly collapse of a train-station canopy in Novi Sad last November, have grown into a nationwide campaign demanding early elections, accountability and an end to corruption.

We met so many amazing students across Serbia, including Matija Sano Vojnić (20), a student of organisational sciences at the University of Belgrade. Below you see him showing his “student index” – his official student ID card -- to riot police during a blockade in Belgrade. In the second, you see him being arrested. Thanks again for speaking with us, Matija!

Then, over the summer – on the 30th anniversary of Srebrenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina edged ever closer to dysfunction. Dodik continued testing the Dayton framework, pushing legislation to weaken state institutions from Republika Srpska. Dodik even had a warrant issued for his arrest. Warnings from Brussels followed; consequences – as so often is the case – did not. Marjolein worked on a podcast and project detailing the accounts of Srebrenica survivors in the Netherlands and Ingrid covered the topic for ARTE.

In the fall, for Ingrid, it was back to reporting on riots in Belgrade again. Marjolein hiked up to Trebević and travelled to Kosovo to report on tech entrepreneurs. More and more international companies — including Dutch ones — are turning to Kosovo in search of tech talent. Some work with freelancers who contribute remotely, others with full teams, and in the case of Buckaroo, the company opened an entire office in Pristina, employing more than sixty people. Collectively, we have probably also joined several protests from the Serb diaspora in Holland.

And, we also reviewed an insane amount of meme’s between us. Which we don’t want to keep from you. And so, we closing out the year with a small Balkan quiz. We have selected some of our favourite memes from the past twelve months and turned them into a test: how well do you recognise the political moments and regional references? Answers will be in the next newsletter.

Lots of love,

Marjolein and Ingrid (both on holidays, therefore the helmets. Safety first!)

1. Why is Batman offering eggs to people in Serbia?

2. Why does Vučić love this guy?

3. Why is Vučić a drama queen?

4. What are these lovely lads making?

5. What is going on here?

6. Who is this lovely lady?

7. What happened to Rama’s AI Minister?

8. What is happening here?

We want to wish you a lovely new year with more news from the Balkans. We will be back next month. If in the meantime you want to read or watch something about the region, the editors of Donaustroom.eu wrote down their recommendations for books and movies!

Cheers,
Ingrid & Marjolein

Some good news (yay)!

A few years ago, we worked with the fantastic Alena Beširević and Harun Dinarević on a Journalismfund Europe–supported investigation into illegal logging and deforestation in Bosnia-Herzegovina. We – amongst other things – uncovered a suspicious public tender linked to companies of Milan Kovač, the mayor of Šipovo, a town in Republika Srpska.

Kovač, a member of Milorad Dodik’s party, refused to speak with us, despite several attempts to visit his office and his companies. Instead, the first time we heard from him was after our investigation was published on Naratorium. In fact, Kovač called our colleague Harun, and started insulting him and Alena with some severely vile language.

As Harun described it to us at the time: “The abuse from the SNSD functionary varied from exhibitionist offers, through misogynistic and homophobic insults, to threats of sexual violence.” Harun had been instructed to record the call. Listen to the call here:

Now the good news – nearly two years later, the basic court in the city of Banja Luka has issued the first ruling in Bosnia and Herzegovina to recognise discrimination against journalists. The court has ruled that Kovač directly discriminated against Beširević and Dinarević by insulting and degrading them during that particular call.

The court ruled that Kovač’s language was vulgar, threatening and incompatible with public office. It concluded that his remarks constituted harassment, because they violated the journalists’ dignity and were intended to intimidate and humiliate them.

Colleagues at KLIX and Detektor covered the case (our personal paragraph below!)

In solidarity!

Ingrid and Marjolein

What else is new?

In Serbia, a convicted hooligan is helping to build Vucic’s Expo 2027. Nice investigation by Ivana Milosavljević from Center for Investigative Journalism of Serbia (CINS). She spoke with Đorđe Prelić — an ex-member of Partizan Belgrade’s “Alcatraz” ultras and a murderer convicted for the 2009 murder of French football fan Brice Taton. Prelić has reportedly been hired for cleaning work on the EXPO 2027 Belgrade construction site.

In Bosnia-Herzegovina, the elections we had all been waiting for finally took place – and in the end didn’t really bring anything new. On Sunday 23 November, Dodik’s main man Sinisa Karan won the elections for the presidency of Republika Srpska. When Dodik finally proclaimed the victory for his party, he said: “They wanted to get rid of me, but now they have two Dodiks and they will see us every day.”

30 years of Dayton peace agreement, celebrated in the Hague. As many of you will know, the Dayton Peace Agreement ended the Bosnian war in 1995. On Friday 21 November, exactly 30 years after the peace agreement was signed in Dayton, Ohio (USA),a conference was held in The Hague to mark this anniversary and to discuss the legacy of the treaty that brought peace to Bosnia, but also kept the country in a deadlock. Marjolein spoke in a panel that day. You can read a report on the event here or watch the full 4 hours here:

Tips of the month

See these beautiful photos of “RoMagic: Proudly Queer. Unapologetically Roma”, a photographic exhibition which has been on display in Brussels, Belgrade and Bucharest in recent months, shows the hidden lives and resilience of Europe’s Romani LGBTQ+ communities, long obscured due to both racism and homophobia. It includes portraits and audio stories of queer Roma people from Hungary, Moldova, Romania or Serbia.

New favorite Instagram account with some retro hits from Yugoslavia:

Two Belgian journalists investigated how puppy dealers in Eastern Europe run an illegal transnational smuggling ring selling large numbers of puppies to customers in Western Europe — often bred in poor conditions and transported across borders with forged or missing paperwork. Many puppies are sick, under-aged, or unvaccinated.

Watch the full documentary here.

Hi, from us

We’re Ingrid & Marjolein, two journalists writing about the Balkan and beyond. One Saturday night — after a few glasses of rakija, yes — this newsletter was born. In each edition, we share stories that catch our eye, the ones that are worth reading, along with our observations from reporting in the region. So grab a coffee (or a rakija) and join us.

Is there anything more beautiful than autumn in the Balkans? The past few weeks I spent my time in Brela, along the Croatian coast, in Zagreb and in Sarajevo. Between those three destinations, I clocked many hours on the bus, watching the colorful landscape roll by. Every season enchants me, but early autumn with its warm sun and golden leaved trees, is my absolute favourite.

Whenever I’m in Sarajevo, I make time for a walk on Trebević, the mountain rising to the south of the city. The first stretch goes up by cable car or car, then it’s a walk through the forest of tall, slender pines, towards the 1,628-meter peak. But, truth be told, I usually stop about two-thirds of the way for coffee and rakija at Dom Jure Franko. Somehow, I always end up meeting kind and interesting people there. Sometimes the conversations are so good that I find myself walking back through the forest in the dark, forced to take a taxi down because the cable car has stopped running.

This time, I met a group of men. When I said, in my best Bosnian, that I was from the Netherlands, one started speaking Dutch. It happens more often than you’d think. Adin, born in Sarajevo, grew up in Denmark but lived in the Netherlands for a few years while working with the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY), which is why he speaks Dutch.

Adin was there with two Americans and a translator. He’s part of the local Mountain Rescue Service — a group of volunteers who do vital work and save lives in the mountains. “But it goes beyond volunteer work,” Adin said. “Volunteers usually get equipment, training, and sometimes financial support from the government. We choose not to. We don’t want to depend on a government that often acts in the name of nationalism. So we invest not only our time and energy, but also our own money to buy what we need.”

And so, inevitably, the conversation turns to politics. Despite their criticism of those in power, these men consciously chose to return to Bosnia, or Yugoslavia, as they still like to call the country they were born in. They want to be here, because this is home – where they belong. Together, they reminisce about their childhoods, when they’d race their bikes down the mountain. “People often think Bosnians leave because there are no jobs or because the education system is poor,” one of them said. “But it’s not always about that. It’s about human dignity. Can you still find motivation to build a life under these circumstances? That’s not always easy. But on days like this, when I look around, I feel happy to be here.”

As I walked through Sarajevo in the days that followed, I suddenly started noticing the signs everywhere: “Opasnost! Fasada se obrušava.” Danger! The façade is crumbling. It’s hard not to see the metaphor in that. Buildings, and in some ways, the country itself, are literally falling apart, and yet life goes on. The moral of the story? Go outside. Climb a mountain. Talk to strangers. Just because it’s fun. And as a journalist, I’ve learned that those moments almost always bring new insights, stories, or connections - far more valuable than anything found on the beaten path.

Cao,
Marjolein

What’s new?

Lynxes on Bosnian forests. High on Mount Plješevica, four lynx were recently seen. Lynx are usually solitary animals, so witnessing a few of them several together is something exceptional. It suggests a healthy and reproducing population, a hopeful sign for a species that has fought hard to survive in the Balkans. The Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx) nearly vanished from this region due to poaching, habitat loss, and fragmentation. Even today, it faces serious pressures: shrinking forest corridors, roads cutting across migration paths, and low genetic diversity in isolated areas.

One year after the deadly train station canopy collapse in Novi Sad, tens of thousands gathered in the Serbian city for a silent vigil. Following months of student defiance, the protest movement used the somber anniversary to renew their calls for regime accountability for the tragedy. Read OCCRP and CINS’s reportage from Novi Sad.

Marjolein went to the protest in Utrecht, where around 200 people from the diaspora also held 16 minutes of silence to commemorate the victims. There was also a photo exhibition and a creative performance. Protests like these were held in over 60 cities around the globe, showing great solidarity with Serbian’s protestors.

We would like to recommend the documentary Wake up, Serbia! Pumpaj: The Student Uprising, directed by Raül Gallego Abellán, a Spanish journalist who followed the movement from the beginning. The movie gives a clear overview from what has happened over time and you can watch it for free on YouTube.

In Serbia, KRIK has profiled more than a dozen people opposing anti-government demonstrators. Some of these government supporters have also been convicted or investigated for serious crimes Among those profiled is Petar Panić, who was seen in the Pionirski park camp before a large student protest in Belgrade in March. According to police records, Panic was charged for 16 crimes during the 1990s and early 2000s, including multiple assaults, and illegal possession of a weapon. Panić’s friendship with Vučić has been well documented. He is also close to other SNS heavyweights including Darko Glišić, minister for public investments, and former construction minister Goran Vesić, indicted over the railway station collapse. Read the story by KRIK here.

A Dutch court halts United Group founder’s board challenge, raising press freedom concerns in Serbia. A court in Amsterdam ruled it lacked jurisdiction over a dispute between United Group and its founder, who had challenged his dismissal from the board. The case has drawn attention in Serbia, where observers warn the outcome could impact press freedom and endanger the country’s independent media outlets.

Kosovo as a new tech-hub. When in Pristina, Marjolein went to visit some tech companies to write an article for NRC. More and more international companies — including Dutch ones — are turning to Kosovo in search of tech talent. Some work with freelancers who contribute remotely, others with full teams, and in the case of Buckaroo, the company opened an entire office in Pristina, employing more than sixty people. CTO Jelle Hoes said he was not only impressed by the level of technical skill and English proficiency, but also pleasantly surprised by the atmosphere in the city.

Kosovo is a young country — independent only since 2008 — and its economy is rapidly growing. The population is young too, which partly explains the fast expansion of the IT sector. Of course, Kosovo is small, so in absolute numbers it will never replace countries like Poland, Romania, or India. But the fact that it’s increasingly being seen as an outsourcing alternative is a real boost for the young people working in tech. For this article Marjolein spoke to several young software developers — many of them women, which stood out to me. They told me that the stereotype of IT being a “men’s field” no longer applies in Kosovo. It’s a well-paid job with opportunities for growth, and that’s what draws them in. And, in turn, that helps break down the stereotype even further.

Tip

It’s the Eastern Neighbours Film Festival again in The Hague, Netherlands. From 5th to 9th of November you can watch cinema from Eastern Europe.

Meme of the week

Gen Z keeps on giving funny content on social media!

Hi, from us

We’re Ingrid & Marjolein, two journalists writing about the Balkan and beyond. One Saturday night — after a few glasses of rakija, yes — this newsletter was born. In each edition, we share stories that catch our eye, the ones that are worth reading, along with our observations from reporting in the region. So grab a coffee (or a rakija) and join us.

It’s been a summer of changes – and now we’re back, in a new way!

What’s new? First of all: Ingrid is no longer a freelancer. She has joined the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), an investigative journalism organisation that started in Sarajevo and now operates worldwide. From Amsterdam, she will coordinate investigations in the Netherlands and across Europe.

Luckily, Marjolein will continue her reporting from the Balkans. So don’t worry – we will still make sure that the very best Balkan stories find their way into your inbox. And of course Ingrid still has a special eye for the Balkans as well.

From now on, we’ll bring you a monthly newsletter – and we’ll experiment a bit with the format. Some editions will offer a deep dive or dispatch on a particular topic, others will provide a short update, and sometimes we’ll share a recommendation for something worth reading or watching. This edition we will focus on the two most obvious elephants in the rooms: Vučić and Dodik.

Thanks for staying with us, and stay tuned.

Ingrid & Marjolein

Serbia: Ongoing protests, police violence and intimidation of journalists

While summer traditionally brings a lull to protest movements, August in Serbia was anything but quiet.

Students increasingly reported instances of police violence, noting that it was directed even towards those who exhibited no aggressive or violent behavior. Furthermore, there appeared to be a rise in the number of arrested students. Journalists covering the unrest also described experiencing police brutality while on duty, even when clearly identifiable by their press vests.

For RTL Nieuws, Marjolein interviewed Aleksandra, one of the protesters who personally experienced and spoke out about the violence during the demonstrations.

But the pressure on journalists isn’t just physical: Investigative reporting by the OCCRP exposed a highly concerning conversation between the CEO of state-owned Telekom Srbija and the newly appointed CEO of United Group, the owner of Serbia’s last major independent broadcasters. The leaked audio allegedly revealed discussions centered on plans to politically neutralize or compromise the editorial independence of critical outlets like N1 and Nova S, including the potential removal of a media executive. This revelation signals intense political pressure from the ruling regime to silence critical journalism and has drawn sharp criticism from international media watchdogs. Although United Group’s current management has since publicly denied the allegations, they have been urged to staunchly defend the independence of their news channels against all forms of political interference.

Protesters in the Netherlands rallied at United Group’s Hoofddorp headquarters, warning of an attack on press freedom. If N1 disappears, observers say, only government-controlled media will remain. Critics accuse the EU of turning a blind eye while Vučić tightens control.

We are now approaching a full year of continuous protests in Serbia. Initially, many observers were skeptical, dismissing these demonstrations as just another fleeting wave that would quickly dissipate. However, the sustained commitment of the participants has made it increasingly clear that they are resolute and will not give up until their core demands are addressed. We fully anticipate that the protests will continue, and we expect a particularly significant mobilization around November 1st, which marks the one-year anniversary of the tragic collapse of the canopy at the Novi Sad train station. This date is widely expected to be a major event.

Bosnia: will Dodik stay in power, yes or no?

At the moment of writing this newsletter, we feel nobody really knows what is going on with Dodik. Let’s unpack a bit what happened in the last couple of weeks.

Dodik’s downfall was triggered by his persistent refusal to recognize the authority of the High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina, currently German politician Christian Schmidt.

• The Verdict: Dodik’s repeated defiance led to a conviction last februari by the highest court in Sarajevo, which sentenced him to a year in prison and banned him from holding political office for six years.

• Removal from Office: After losing his appeal, Dodik was formally removed from his post in August, and the Bosnian electoral commission called for snap presidential elections in Republika Srpska.

• Failed Resistance: Initially, Dodik rejected his removal, branding the process a political conspiracy involving the international community, Bosniaks, and the courts. He called for a boycott of the new election and announced a referendum: The referendum would basically be whether or not people accept that Dodiks mandate has been revoked.

  

Dodik’s stubborn resistance crumbled when he realized he had exhausted all political and international options.

• Financial Concession: He implicitly recognized the judicial ruling by paying a fine to avoid his prison sentence.

• Political Isolation: Crucially, his appeal for widespread support failed. The public did not rise in protest, and the local opposition refused to join his cause.

• International Silence: His frequent visits to Moscow yielded no guarantees from Vladimir Putin that Russia would intervene. Furthermore, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, facing domestic protests, maintained his stated position in favor of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s territorial integrity, offering no lifeline to Dodik.

The Quiet Capitulation

The final sign of his defeat came when Dodik not only abandoned the idea of an election boycott but also nominated a candidate from his SNSD party to run in the snap elections. By nominating a successor, he effectively acknowledged that his presidency was over and his years-long dominance of RS and Bosnian politics was ending.

BUT

Still the referendum hasn’t officially been cancelled. There are now rumors it might be postponed to the 9th of January, the illegal national day of RS. And even if Dodik would officially give up, he for sure will continue influencing political life in RS behind the scenes. So keep an eye on Bosnia.

Meme of the week

Please value the peace between Albania and Azerbaijan!

Hi, from us

We’re Ingrid & Marjolein, two journalists writing about the Balkan and beyond. One Saturday night — after a few glasses of rakija, yes — this newsletter was born. In each edition, we share stories that catch our eye, the ones that are worth reading, along with our observations from reporting in the region. So grab a coffee (or a rakija) and join us.

Summer is here — and yes, we’re also taking a moment to enjoy some well-deserved time off. Marjolein is currently wrapping up all her podcast episodes during a working holiday in Bosnia, and soon, after a slow beach holiday, Ingrid is gearing up for new adventures.

So for now, we’re pressing pause on the news and simply sharing a few good reads, and documentaries or other things we think you’ll enjoy:

• De man die Tito ging vermoorden by Erik Schaap, Evert de Vos, and Zoran Bogdanović (Book). Sorry, this one’s for our Dutch readers. Last week, our colleagues released this new book — a fascinating account of the Dutchman André Engwirda, who first fought against Franco’s fascism and later collaborated with the German Nazis in a plot to assassinate Tito. With thanks to Tarik Haverić of the Tarih bookstore in Sarajevo, who made an important filmscript available to the team! Hvala Tarik.

• Like a Prisoner by Fatos Lubonja (Book). These are the powerful chronicles of Albanian writer and dissident Fatos Lubonja, who spent 17 years in the notorious Spaç prison camp during Enver Hoxha’s dictatorship. Recently translated into Dutch, the book offers a rare and deeply personal insight into life under communist rule in Albania. See the Dutch translation here.

• My Cat Yugoslavia, by Pajtim Statovci (book). The novel weaves together two storylines: that of Bekim, who fled to Finland as a child with his Albanian-Kosovar parents and struggles with his identity. He was raised Muslim, is gay, and has a violent father. His only companions are a boa constrictor and a talking cat, with whom he develops a toxic love affair. Intertwined with his story is that of his mother, who is married off in the 1980s in a traditional ceremony in a small village. Through the lens of a single family, the book explores both the Kosovo War and the complexities of themes like migration and identity. The novel was first published in 2014, when Statovci was only 24 years old. The Dutch translation came out last year, and this year the German edition won the International Literature Award. The renewed attention shows how relevant—and perhaps even more urgent—its themes still are today. It’s a type of book that even one year after I read it, it is still in my mind.

• De elf stemmen van Srebrenica by Marjolein Koster and Alma Mustafić (Podcast). For the Dutchies again. Thirty years ago, Srebrenica was overrun by the Bosnian Serb army. Over 8,000 people were killed and thousands more deported. Many survivors found refuge in the Netherlands. In recent years, much attention has focused on the role of Dutch UN peacekeepers during the fall of Srebrenica. But who are the Bosnian Dutch people who carry this history with them? In De Elf Stemmen van Srebrenica, journalist and Balkans expert Marjolein Koster and genocide scholar and survivor Alma Mustafić seek out their stories. How do you continue living with a past shaped by war, in a society that doesn’t understand your history? And what might we learn if we truly listen? Listen here!

• Collective by Alexander Nanau (Documentary). A few years old, but still absolutely worth watching. Director Alexander Nanau follows a crack team of investigative journalists at the Romanian newspaper Gazeta Sporturilor as they try to uncover a vast healthcare fraud. Collective is a gripping and devastating investigation into corruption in Romania’s healthcare system, sparked by a deadly nightclub fire in Bucharest a few years back.

• The Corridors of Power (Documentary series). Key figures from American politics—such as Henry Kissinger, Hillary Clinton, and Madeleine Albright—are interviewed about the wars of the past few decades. The central question: why do American leaders keep failing to stop genocide? Episode two focuses on Bosnia, episode four on Kosovo. No groundbreaking revelations are made, but hearing these individuals reflect on the 1990s makes one thing painfully clear: history keeps repeating itself. Not exactly hopeful when thinking about today’s conflicts, but it does offer valuable insight into how the politics of global powers tends to operate.

  Or dive into some of our long-read pieces from the archives:

  • Ever wondered why Serbia has so many private detectives? Read Ingrid’s piece for New Lines Magazine: “Serbia’s Curious Polygraph Craze.” As the country battles organized crime, politicians are turning to polygraph tests — not for justice, but for spin. In a state where media is tightly controlled, lie detectors have become a PR tool to sway public opinion and dodge accountability.

  • Do you also love baby lions? So do Albanian gangsters. As gangsters and influencers in the Balkans flaunt lion cubs on social media, vets and activists fear this illicit trade is expanding. Read Ingrid’s piece – from last summer - on this in New Lines Magazine, or if you prefer to read in Dutch, this version for NRC.

  See you soon!

  Ingrid and Marjolein

  ---

  Meme of the week

  Happening in the Balkan, right now!

  Hi, from us

  We’re Ingrid & Marjolein, two freelance journalists covering the Balkans. One Saturday night — after a few glasses of rakija, yes — this newsletter was born. In each edition, we share stories that catch our eye, the ones that are worth reading, along with our observations from reporting in the region. So grab a coffee (or a rakija) and join us.

  

  
  

I can confirm that Belgrade is sweltering - both in temperature and in politics.

Ever since the student movement, which has been protesting for eight months, began demanding early elections - elections Vučić refuses to call - chaos has once again engulfed Serbia. Students have urged citizens to engage in acts of civil disobedience. What began as peaceful demonstrations and marches, sparked by the tragic collapse of Novi Sad’s train station, has now escalated into clashes with riot police.

If you can read Dutch, you can read my report for NRC here.

One of the people I met this weekend was Matija Sano Vojnić (20), a student of organisational sciences at the University of Belgrade (see photos below). In one photo, you see him showing his “student index”—his official student ID card—to riot police during a blockade at Autokomanda. In the second, you see him being arrested.

“At five am, four armoured vehicles came charging at us. It was terrifying. I ran into an alley, but an officer slammed me against a wall and handcuffed me.” “The sirens, the screaming, the violence - it keeps haunting me.” Matija’s arm still bears a graze from where an officer threw him against the wall: “like I was some kind of criminal.”

Matija recalls how officers smashed a boy’s head so hard against a police van that the window shattered. Amnesty International has reported hundreds of arrests, including of minors, with multiple allegations of excessive force. Many were already released.

Students say they are being hunted. Ten days earlier, Matija explained, he was interrogated without a lawyer by Serbia’s security service, the BIA. “They wanted to know what we were planning,” he says. Many of his friends received similar summonses. (Apparently, some students even made a sticker begging the BIA to please stop calling them — still trying to get my hands on that one.) Others were abducted off the street by plainclothes officers. “No one knew where they were.”

And there’s more: students speak of “fake police officers” or SNS supporters deployed to intimidate them. Still, the movement seems determined. They are now working to present a student-backed list of candidates for future elections (which, at the moment, it does not look like will happen anytime soon). “We don’t want to live in fear,” says Matija. (Below with students he met whilst arrested, now “we are friends”, he says.)

Later,

Ingrid

Podcast ****

Vier sterren van de Volkskrant voor de “11 stemmen van Srebrenica”. Marjolein en Alma Mustafić spraken met elf van de zestigduizend Bosniërs die naar Nederland vluchtten. Met success, volgens de Volkskrant: “De podcast is niet alleen een reeks akelige verhalen. De makers stellen steeds aan het begin de wezenlijke vraag: hoe kon een vreedzame samenleving afglijden naar een oorlog met Srebrenica als dieptepunt? Die vraag is tegelijk duidelijk een appèl op de luisteraar: help te zorgen dat dit nooit meer gebeurt.”

In other news

Lion on the run. A black leopard escaped from a private home in Bulgaria and went viral online, reports Svetoslav Todorov from Balkan Insight. The events triggered both concern and lighthearted memes. Thankfully, the leopard was safely recaptured.

The Hague will unveil its first physical memorial to the 1995 Srebrenica genocide on July 11, 2025, featuring 8,372 fragments of white limestone symbolising the victims, placed in front of the former International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. The initiative, led by survivors, marks a step toward a permanent monument and broader recognition of the genocide in the Netherlands.

Kosovo sentenced an ISIS fighter to 20 years in prison for crimes against the Yazidis (as reported via translator Wahhab Hassoo). On July 4, 2025, the Court of Justice in Pristina sentenced Murat Dërnjanin to 20 years in prison for crimes against humanity. As a member of the Islamic State (ISIS), he enslaved Yazidi women, sold them, and was involved in atrocities committed in Syria and Iraq. Dërnjanin is one of more than 400 Kosovars who joined ISIS - the highest number per capita in Europe.

Meme of the week

Nomination from, yes, you guessed rightly… our favorite cat lady.

Hi, from us

We’re Ingrid & Marjolein, two freelance journalists covering the Balkans. One Saturday night — after a few glasses of rakija — this newsletter was born. In each edition, we share stories that catch our eye, the ones worth reading, along with our observations from reporting in the region. So grab a coffee (or a rakija) and join us.

________

I never imagined that one day I’d be speaking Bosnian on national television—especially about something as complex and painful as the Srebrenica genocide. But when Alma Mustafić and I were invited by N1 Bosnia and Herzegovina to talk about our project The Eleven Voices of Srebrenica, I said yes, without thinking too much about whether my language skills were really up to it.

I still make plenty of mistakes and often struggle to find the right words—but I believe the message gets through. When we in the Netherlands talk about the genocide in Bosnia, we need to make space for the voices of those who lived through it. We must listen to the survivors and share their stories.

As many of you know, Dutch peacekeepers failed to protect the people of Srebrenica. In the aftermath, the Dutch role has often dominated the narrative—overshadowing the stories of the survivors. Whenever Srebrenica is discussed here, the focus is usually on whether we, the Dutch, carry any guilt or responsibility. And yes, the Dutch state has been found fully responsible for the deaths of Ibro and Muhamed Nuhanović and Rizo Mustafić, and partially responsible for the deaths of hundreds of other men. Through a compensation scheme, it paid damages to the relatives of 612 men who were killed.

This is important—and deserves our full attention. But rather than examining the broader meaning of genocide, or critically reflecting on our own role, the dominant Dutch narrative continues to be that we were abandoned by the international community.

For the Dutch human rights magazine Wordt Vervolgd, I recently wrote a piece about how the Netherlands falls short in the way we remember Srebrenica—and what we could learn if we truly listened to survivors. That’s why, together with Alma Mustafić and a large team of collaborators, I started The Eleven Voices of Srebrenica. To bring those voices—literally—into public space. It’s a multimedia project that includes a photo series in de Volkskrant, two exhibitions, and a podcast (which I’m in the middle of editing right now). The first episode went online last weekend. It is about Satko Mujagić, Omarska survivor and a dear friend as well. We went together to Haarlem, the Dutch city where he was ‘born again’ and we visited him in Kozarac, near Prijedor.

In the coming weeks, I’ll be sharing more about this project. If you’d like to learn more, visit www.11stemmen.nl or check out our Instagram: @11stemmen. Since this project is focused on Bosnian-Dutch, the podcast is in Dutch, but at the exhibitions there is also information in English and Bosnian.

Because I’m locked in my editing cave and Ingrid is on a holiday to Montenegro, this newsletter is a bit shorter than usual, but full of unexpected connections between the Balkans and other countries in the world.

Marjolein

In other news

If you would’ve asked me two days ago what the possible connection between Iran and Albania could be, I would probably not have an answer for you. But this article by Una Hajdari opens a whole new world: An Iranian-linked hacker group called “Homeland Justice,” tied to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, carried out a cyberattack on municipal servers in Tirana, Albania, as retaliation for the country's hosting of around 3,000 Iranian dissidents from the Mojahedin-e‑Khalq (MEK) opposition group. The attack disrupted key public services—impacting everything from transport to passport issuance—and exposed personal data of nearly 800,000 residents, with the hackers threatening further action if Albania continued its support. Security experts noted that Albania has long suffered from insufficient cybersecurity, having been targeted multiple times since 2008, and this incident underscores the country’s vulnerability in its rapid digital transformation.

Another connection that might not be top of mind: Gaza and Croatia. Read this personal story about Esam Alaydy, a Palestinian who once fought in Croatia’s 1990s war, fled the Gaza conflict in 2023 and returned to Vukovar. He now lives there with his wife and six children.

Meme of the week

I still have no idea why all of a sudden Vučić and Usain Bolt seem to be friends.

Not really a meme, but just something you cannot miss! Of course we all know that Dua Lupa is from Kosovo and grew up in the UK, but did you also know she has a special connection to the Netherlands? She has family living in Leiden and once said in an interview that Amsterdam feels like home to her. Ahhhh <3 And that is why her Dutch language skills are so good!

Hi, from us

We’re Marjolein & Ingrid, two freelance journalists covering the Balkans. One Saturday night — after a few glasses of rakija — this newsletter was born. In each edition, we share stories that catch our eye, the ones worth reading, along with our observations from reporting in the region. So grab a coffee (or a rakija) and join us.

When I lived in Liberia — some years ago — I worked for an organisation teaching journalism skills and ethics to journalists. It was the height of the Ebola epidemic, with tens of thousands dead. International media started descending. At the time, the major story was how pregnant women were dying because doctors arrived too late, or were too afraid to treat women due to the risk of infection in already underfunded hospitals.

A few days before my colleague and I gave a workshop on ethics, a group of photojournalists stormed the maternity wing of a hospital where a gravely ill woman was giving birth. Without any form of consent. I remember asking (perflexed): “How would you have felt if she was your wife? Or if was you?” That experience stayed with me — it showed how easily the line between witnessing and exploiting can be crossed.

It’s not unique to Liberia or Ebola – but sadly happens all the time in conflict affected areas or emergencies like Ebola. Also in the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina. With devastating consequences. Thousands of photographs were left behind, but few as haunting as one taken in Brčko in 1992 : two men, one with a gun. The next frame – one man, in his own blood. The man with the gun Goran Jelisić, a Bosnian Serb paramilitary, executing two Bosniak civilians. The photographs were captured by Bojan Stojanović and Srđan Petrović for Reuters. One of the photo’s earned a World Press Photo award.

But, as a powerful reporting by Barbara Matejčić for BIRN shows, there is something seriously dark going on behind this photos from Brčko. The killing was, reporting shows, performed for the camera as part of a calculated act of propaganda. The photographers – who later sought political refuge in the Netherlands – not accidental witnesses. The killing - put in scene. The prestige of the World Press Prize lent the photograph legitimacy, and the jury failed to scrutinize how the images were made and used a caption furthering propaganda (later appearing to be incorrect but only changed after Matejčić emailed World Press Photo). It is this part that hit me hardest:

“The murdered man in the brown leather jacket was not named at the trial in The Hague. He was recorded as an unidentified victim. His name is Husein Krso.

[...]

Hussein was married. One of his sons was nine years old. A month after his death, the second son turned six years old. Seven months after his death, his wife Jana gave birth to their third son. His brother brought him a brown leather jacket from Switzerland, his middle son Mustafa Kršo told me. We met in Brčko. He told me that his mom couldn't talk about it, so he came.

His wife and sons saw Hussein for the last time a few days before he was killed, when the whole family wanted to leave the city in early May 1992. The Yugoslav People's Army separated men from women and children. They did not let the men go. Mustafa remembers the farewell next to the military garrison. Everyone was crying, and dad gave mom some money and said, "Don't worry."

[...]

"The first information about my father's fate was through Bojan Stojanović's photo," says Mustafa.

Dad's murder was shown on television.”

Please all take the time to read Matejčić’s brillant work. It says it all.

Ingrid

What else you need to know

Russia has criticised Serbia for allowing arms and ammunition to reach Ukraine — an act Moscow condemned as a “shot in the back.” Russian intelligence agency SVR claims Serbian-made ammunition is reaching Kyiv via NATO countries like the Czech Republic, Poland, and Bulgaria, as well as some African routes. In response, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić said he discussed the issue with Vladimir Putin and that the two agreed to form a working group to investigate how the weapons are reaching the front.

We already know how Serbian-made weapons are ending up on the frontlines in Ukraine. For a long time, Vučić publicly denied that arms produced in Serbia were being used to kill “Slavic brothers.” Eventually, he conceded they might reach the front “by magic.” But there’s nothing magical about it. Behind the transfer lies a murky web of private arms contractors linked to the Pentagon, a shadowy Serbian exporter close to the Belgrade regime, and a former Russian KGB agent with ties to the Kremlin. Want to know who’s cashing in? Read Ingrid’s investigation in De Groene Amsterdammer.

Wanna know more about Marc Morales, the Pentagon’s private arms contractor? Read OCCRP. Slobodan Tesic, Vučić’s favorite dealer, is also still at it, reveals Balkan Insight. And, recently, Serbian newspaper Vreme reported an explotion in the Serbian state run Krušik factory in Valjevo, where ammunition is made that has been exported via this web of intermediaries. In Kiev, it is rumoured that Russia may be behind this.

Montenegro has offered a €1 million reward for a killed journalist. The ministry of interior has offered this for information leading to the resolution of the 2004 murder of journalist Duško Jovanović. The case has remained unsolved for over two decades.

In other news

Who is “Helen Bratt”? An Albanian AI-ghost. Just when you thought the election in Albania couldn’t get weirder – comes the bizarre saga of Helen Bratt — a political analyst who doesn’t exist. A fiery post-election op-ed she wrote caused a stir online, sparking heated debate and shares across social media. There was just one problem: Helen is fake. Not just the name — the entire persona, article and all, appear to have been generated by artificial intelligence (AI). Was it a prank? A propaganda test run? A cynical experiment in media manipulation? No one seems to know for sure. By BIRN.

Fraudulent Facebook prize games in Bosnia. A recent investigation by our mates Alena Besirevic and Amar Karađuz at Raskrinkavanje uncovers a surge in fraudulent Facebook prize games in Bosnia and Herzegovina. These scams, mimicking reputable brands like Bingo, entice users with fake giveaways. By entering their phone numbers to claim non-existing prizes, users inadvertently subscribe to premium services, incurring weekly charges of around 3 KM, often without receiving content. The scheme involves intermediaries like NTH Mobile in Bihać, facilitating billing through telecom providers.

Dodik rejects constitutional court rulings. “They guard the constitution like a cabbage goat.” Dodik, President of Republika Srpska, has rejected recent rulings by Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Constitutional Court, accusing it of acting unconstitutionally. His remarks came after the court annulled some controversial laws and decisions passed by the RS National Assembly. The court ruled that these acts violated key constitutional provisions by attempting to strip the state of its legal authority and competencies.

Tip

Three decades after genocide in Srebrenica of July 1995, scars of the Bosnian war remain deeply visible both in Bosnia and Herzegovina and in it’s diaspora—perhaps nowhere more so than in the Netherlands. Last week there was a conference organized for the anniversary of 30 years after Srebrenica, organised by the Netherlands Institute for War Documentation (NIOD) and you can rewatch the livestream here.

Meme of the week

Hi, from us

We’re Ingrid & Marjolein, two freelance journalists covering the Balkans. One Saturday night — after a few glasses of rakija — this newsletter was born. In each edition, we share stories that catch our eye, the ones worth reading, along with our observations from reporting in the region. So grab a coffee (or a rakija) and join us.

While waiting for this lift in Belgrade one day, I found myself wondering: is this a typical Yugoslav elevator? So I did what anyone would do—I googled “DAKA Elevator.” It turns out the company’s full name is David Pajić DAKA, founded in 1947, in Belgrade. Between the 1960s and the 1990s, it installed elevators across the former Yugoslavia. (And yes, there is such a thing as elevatorpedia, where you can find this kind of information—right down to the addresses where these lifts are still in use.)

You might have found lifts like these outside Yugoslavia too, once — but for now, I’m diving into the curious world of DAKA. Because when I first Googled the name, I stumbled upon a trove of videos made by tourists or expats, describing the DAKA elevator as a full-blown culture shock. Slightly dramatic, I thought at the time. But perhaps that thought came back to haunt me, because not long ago, I got stuck in one. In Sarajevo, in the middle of the night, no less.

The golden rule with these lifts — which, of course, I do know — is never to open the doors before you hear that telltale click, the signal that the lift has actually arrived at the floor. And yet… let’s just say clarity wasn’t my strongest suit at that hour.

But thanks to this experience, I now also know how to get out of one. You can, as I did, call the phone number posted inside the lift. Eventually, someone will come to rescue you — though it might take a while. After about 20 minutes, a kind neighbour showed up with a lifesaving tip: just press the button for a random floor — upwards, in my case — and the lift will jolt back to life. Bosnian logic.

To be fair, I’m not entirely sure whether this Sarajevo lift was actually made by the same DAKA company from Belgrade — but the vibe was unmistakably similar.

No, this isn’t a complaint about Yugoslav-era elevators. It’s an ode. An ode to the orange-brown DAKA, with its vintage push-buttons and squeaky inward-folding doors. And really, isn’t it kind of amazing that these old things still work at all?

Enjoy this new edition of Balkan Unscripted, which, I promise you, will also include some serious news updates.

Caoooo,
Marjolein

In other news

Rama, again! Prime Minister Edi Rama’s Socialist Party secured a fourth consecutive term in the 11 May 2025 parliamentary elections, winning a clear majority of seats. Despite this result, the opposition Democratic Party, led by Sali Berisha, rejected the official results, alleging widespread misuse of state resources, vote‑buying and intimidation on election day.

Bosnian passports for criminals. A new and incredible CIN exposé reveals that over the past decade at least 60 members of Balkan organized crime groups fraudulently obtained genuine Bosnian passports by stealing ordinary citizens’ identities. These travel documents enabled these criminals to move freely across Europe and evade law enforcement, while numerous of their victims suffered border delays and red‑flagging.

Police clash with protestors in Novi Sad. On May 16, riot police in Novi Sad used pepper spray and batons to disperse protesters outside a courtroom, as demonstrators called for the release of six activists jailed since March on dubious charges. These skirmishes mirror similar clashes in the cities of Belgrade, Kraljevo, and Niš, underlining a nationwide pattern of heavy‐handed policing to suppress dissent.

Trouble for Trump's son in law’s controversial real estate project in Belgrade. Serbian prosecutors revealed that Goran Vasić admitted forging the expert opinion that stripped Belgrade’s damaged Ministry of Defence building of its protected status — an action that cleared the way for Kushner’s much critiqued $500 million project .

Meme of the week

Can this be the meme this week? We think so… Edi, seriously? (via Kos_data).

If not, we have this gem for you:

Tips

Those who are into Eurovision are probably still buzzing. For those Eurovision gringes (looking at you Ingrid), let’s sum up some of the songs. Marko Bosnjak from Croatia performed the song |Poison Cake” and the choice of a young gay man representing this country also sparked some outrage from conservatives in Croatia. Sadly for him, he didn’t make it into the finals.

A country that did is Albania, with this fiery song:

And we all know this event is about more than just music. So here are some historical performances from the Balkans we would like to share with you.

The first (and also the last time) that Yugoslavia won Eurovision was in 1989, with the song Rock me from the band Riva. And so the 1990 Eurovision was held in Zagreb. Political tensions were already rising and less than a year later Yugoslavia fell apart.

Which brings us to the next story: Bosnia’s participation in 1993. The country was in full war at the time, Sarajevo was under siege, but nevertheless the music group Fazla managed to escape and travel to Ireland to perform their song. “We came with mud on our feet and in our pants and jacket,” recalled Muhammed Fazlagić in an interview. And of course their song ‘Sva bol svijeta’ was about the war.

Marjoleins absolute favorite from the past is Konstrakta’s In corpore sano. She sang about how society focuses on physical health, but forgets about taking care of our mental state. What she did on stage looked more like performance art than ‘just’ a gig.

Hi, from us

We’re Ingrid & Marjolein, two freelance journalists covering the Balkans. One Saturday night — after a few glasses of rakija — this newsletter was born. In each edition, we share stories that catch our eye, the ones worth reading, along with our observations from reporting in the region. So grab a coffee (or a rakija) and join us.

“We are the Ćaci,” explained a burly, tattooed man seated in a white tent, beer in hand, flanked by six friends (most of them well into their forties). “We’re the students who want to go to school,” one of them said. Another chimed in, claiming the student movement in front of Takovska was “funded by foreign powers to destroy Serbia.” “Vučić is the best president we’ve ever had,” he added, taking another sip of beer.

In Serbia, this camp — made up of white tents and portable toilets in front of the Serbian parliament and Pionirski Park — is known as “Ćaciland”. Many view it as a government-orchestrated stunt or “counter-protest”, designed to discredit and provoke the real students. The “Ćaci”, many believe, are paid regime supporters.

Ćaciland originates from a spelling mistake. A graffiti slogan meant to read “Ђаци у школу” (“Đaci u školu” — “Students to school”) was misspelled as “Ћаци у школу”. Social media users turned it into satirical meme’s and posts ridiculing the regime.

The parody is amusing. The real situation – less so. Months into the largest student-led protests Serbia has seen in years, the regime's response is becoming more dirty. Students speak of “revenge laws,” smear campaigns in regime-loyal tabloids, and police intimidation, including through monitoring of Viber groups.

Professors and university staff supporting the students (for example, Belgrade’s dean) are also under direct attack. Under new legislation proposed by Vučić’s incoming education minister — dubbed by students as the “minister of revenge” — university professors face salary and research time cuts for supporting the students.

And, in Novi Sad, a group of opposition politicians and students were arrested in March, accused of plotting a coup after attending a meeting in the offices of an opposition party – which was likely illegally wiretapped. Arrested was, for example, philosophy student Lazar Dinić (24), from Bor, who has now been in jail for over a month. Other activists have fled to Croatia or Slovenia to avoid arrest.

All to say – keep your eyes on Serbia!

Ingrid

In other news

Italy’s growing demand for wood fuel is driving illegal logging in Albania. Another great story on this important topic. Unfortunately, it's a widespread problem across the Balkans. So, what did the journalists find out? Well, Italy imports large quantities of wood fuel, some illegally sourced from Albania, where forests are being cut despite a national logging ban. Weak enforcement and economic hardship in Albania make it easy for timber to be harvested and exported — often falsely labeled as legally obtained — contributing to deforestation. Italy’s energy demands, particularly for so-called 'green' heating, are indirectly driving this environmental crisis.

When USAID funding was slashed, many Southeast European governments didn’t push back — they cheered, writes Maida Maya Salkanović of See Check. Officials used the moment to discredit NGOs, smear independent media, and push for laws restricting civil society. From police raids in Serbia to conspiracy theories in Bosnia and smear campaigns in Croatia, this indepth article looks into how authoritarian actors in the region weaponized Trump-era disinformation to justify repression.

More updates on Dodiks arrest. Or well, the arrest that didn’t happen. On the 23rd, Dodik was in East Sarajevo and for a moment it seemed that SIPA would execute the arrest warrant they set almost two months ago. But it didn't even get close to that. Serb entity police were heavily armed, guarding Dodik and preventing SIPA from doing anything. After that things became quiet and I think we are all wondering if Dodiks arrest will ever happen, and if not, what will happen next.

The 2025 Reporters Without Borders (RSF) World Press Freedom Index reveals a troubling decline in media freedom across the Balkans, with most countries experiencing significant drops in their rankings. Kosovo suffered the steepest fall, plummeting 24 places to 99th, due to politicized regulation and threats to journalists' safety. Croatia and Bulgaria, both EU members, also saw declines, attributed to SLAPP lawsuits and governmental pressures. Bosnia and Herzegovina dropped 17 places, now ranking 81st, with concerns over the recriminalization of defamation in Republika Srpska. Serbia showed a slight improvement, although according to RSF, they continue to grapple with challenges like political interference and economic pressures on independent media. Perhaps we will see the results from that in next year's report. At the same time, Media Freedom Rapid Response published a report specifically about the findings of RSF and included recommendations following their mission to Serbia in April 2025 and writes that media freedom is “in a state of emergency”.

Meme of the week

With summer around the corner, we’ve noticed a growing interest in the Balkans as a holiday destination. So ladies, get ready…

Tips

Now in its 20th year, the "Dejan Anastasijević" Award celebrates excellence in investigative journalism in Serbia. Presented annually by the Independent Association of Journalists of Serbia (NUNS), the award recognises courageous and impactful reporting. Explore this year’s nominated investigations here. Please vote!

Hi, from us

We’re Ingrid & Marjolein, two freelance journalists covering the Balkans. One Saturday night — after a few glasses of rakija — this newsletter was born. In each edition, we share stories that catch our eye, the ones worth reading, along with our observations from reporting in the region. So grab a coffee (or a rakija) and join us.

Just like Marcel did last week :) - see the evidence below!

Last week, I (Marjolein) traveled to Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) with a team to record a podcast for a longer multimedia project I’m currently working on. One of our stops was Višegrad — a city marked by horrific war crimes committed in 1992 during the Bosnian War. The weight of its history is palpable the moment you arrive.

For example, when you enter the town, a billboard displays a photograph of Milorad Dodik, the president of Republika Srpska, alongside the words: “They brought me to trial because they couldn’t put a million Serbs in the courtroom!” With propaganda like this, Dodik is trying to frame the arrest warrant recently issued against him by the BiH’s Prosecutor's Office as an attack on the Serb people as a whole. But — will Dodik actually be arrested? If so - when? By whom? And what will follow from that?

But today, I want to tell a different story.

When we visited Višegrad, our goal was to find Bikavac — a house where, according to the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY), at least 60 Bosniak civilians were burned alive. Their bodies were never recovered. The house was later completely destroyed, as if trying to erase any trace of what happened there. We knew we might find nothing. But that was precisely why we wanted to go. The absence itself speaks volumes — a haunting symbol of genocide denial.

Earlier that day, we visited a local cemetery. A caretaker gave us directions: “Go straight past the tire repair shop, then turn right,” he said. “You’ll see a Bosnian flag — you can’t miss it.” But we did. After circling the area three times and finally asking a man wearing a jacket with a Russian flag on it, we finally saw someone waving in the distance. It was the cemetery caretaker — he had come to find us himself.

Above the scene where we should have turned right and where two retired men are spending their days waiting for visitors to Bikavac. We expected to find an empty area. Instead, we discovered a newly built house with a plaque commemorating the massacre. Next to it is a photo of Zehra Turjačanin— the only woman who survived. Inside, there’s the start of a private museum: a small memorial to the victims.

Although our time in Višegrad was heavy with sorrow, visiting that particular house also offered a sense of hope — hope in the fact that someone chose to rebuild it with purpose, and that two retirees are dedicating their days to guiding visitors. A country can only begin to heal from genocide if the truth is acknowledged. This place stands as a powerful example of that first step. If you ever find yourself in Višegrad, make sure to visit Bikavac. (To save you the trouble of searching, here’s the exact location).

It’ll be a while before the podcast is ready — the next few weeks will be spent deep in the editing trenches. I’m still not sure whether the story of Bikavac will make the final cut. The Višegrad episode might force us to “kill a few too many darlings”. It’s an almost impossible task — so wish me luck. And the cat below? If you listen closely, you might just catch the occasional purr or meow in the background.

Živili,

Marjolein and her reporting buddy

What you need to know

Last Saturday, Vladan Đokić, the Rector of the University of Belgrade, was summoned to the Criminal Police for questioning. The investigation focused on potential charges of abuse of official position. The summons follows Đokić’s public support for the student movement, which has been staging protests and blocking university activities for several months. In a display of solidarity, hundreds gathered outside the Criminal Police Department on Friday morning, chanting slogans such as 'We won’t give up our rector.' Many of Đokić’s colleagues at the protests called the summons politically motivated and overall inappropriate. After the questioning, Đokić said: “I hope the academic community remains united and in solidarity.”

Serbia’s student movement are blocking the public broadcaster RTS in Belgrade. As there was some fear that the police would try to unblock the building over Easter, students from Novi Pazar, a predominantly muslim city in the south of Serbia, motor bikers and war veterans came out to support the student movement. Some RTS journalists are supporting the students, which has led to interesting news broadcasts.

On Saturday night, students from the university of Novi Sad and citizens welcomed home the students that cycled to Strasbourg, to appeal to European institutions. Photos were taken at the welcoming of these students at the campus of Novi Sad.

Planning a new democracy. Some media found the students protests hard to grasp. What do they want? Why are they not working with the opposition? This opinion piece from Suzana Ignjatovic explains how the students are renewing democracy by holding plenums. “As a student-approved method, plenums are currently the source of legitimacy for ongoing protests and democracy repair, not a revolutionary method.”

However, yet others have grown more skeptical about the long-term impact of the politically non-aligned student movement. After months of protesting, many students are exhausted, and some are running out of money, forcing them to seek work. Meanwhile, Vučić is playing a 'waiting game,' while implementing what students are calling 'revenge laws' targeting the education sector (more on that in next issue).

In other news

Lithium for Dodik. Republika Srpska’s government is pushing forward a controversial lithium mining project in the Majevica region despite strong local opposition and serious environmental concerns. The project, Radar Nova reports, raises fears of greenwashing and long-term ecological damage. Read this piece by Sasa Dragojlo.

Italy is sending more migrants to Albania, after previous attempts to use the new migrant reception centers in Shëngjin were blocked due to conflicts with international law, as ruled by the European Court of Justice. Italy has now found a new approach by sending individuals housed in so-called Repatriation and Detention Centres—those whose asylum applications have been rejected, who have been issued expulsion orders, or who have violated the terms of their stay. This move could serve as a model for the EU's broader plan to establish ‘return hubs’ outside its borders."

Meme of the week

Just for the laughs! (And, for some context, check out Marjolein’s story for VRT about the truly one-of-a-kind 'championship' of lounging in Brezna, a village in Montenegro. For nearly a month and a half, contestants lay in bed, doing nothing.

Tips

Read this beautifully illustrated piece about about migration: “The Testimony Of A Syrian in Kosovo. How I Fled The War But Remained Trapped In Pristina". In this story, a Syrian refugee recounts escaping the Syrian conflict only to face new challenges in Kosovo. Despite finding physical safety, he struggles with bureaucratic hurdles and limited opportunities, leaving him in a state of limbo. The story highlights the emotional toll of displacement and the difficulties refugees encounter.

This weekend, Serbian Orthodox Christians gathered to celebrate Easter at Belgrade's Saint Sava Church. Enjoy this beautiful song from these talented kids:

Lidija Zelovic film Home Game is now showing in Dutch cinemas. Lidija was born and raised in Sarajevo, where she worked as a news broadcaster when the war broke out. After fleeing to the Netherlands, she began documenting her life. Home Game is the third chapter in a deeply personal documentary series about her family. In it, she draws parallels between the current political climate in the Netherlands and Europe and that of Bosnia in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Hi, from us

We’re Ingrid & Marjolein, two freelance journalists covering the Balkans. One Saturday night — after a few glasses of rakija — this newsletter was born. In each edition, we share stories that catch our eye, the ones worth reading, along with our observations from reporting in the region. So grab a coffee (or a rakija) and join us.

A few months ago, I found myself walking through the quiet lanes of a bungalow park in the south of the Netherlands. Leave covered lanes with small white houses with birdfeeders and an elderly couple walking their dogs. Why the hell was I here?

Well, a source suggested that criminals from the Kavač-clan, a violent organized crime group with roots in Montenegro, may be hiding in such a park in Brabant. There, the source claimed, these groups would hide their drivers, drugs and illicit profit from a profitable cocaine route spanning from South America to Belgrade.

Criminal networks from the Western Balkan have recently transitioned from regional actors to key players in the global cocaine trade. Their influence now had extended beyond Europe, reaching markets in North America, Australia, and Africa. Our ports in the Netherlands are popular with cocaine traffickers from the Balkans.

Funded by Journalismfund Europe, with two colleagues (Mark Middel from NRC en Nemanja Rujevic from Vreme), I worked on an investigation mapping the connections between Dutch and Serbian criminal groups. Not the easiest task.

Serbian authorities are surely not too keen to speak with investigative journalists. And their Dutch counterparts, albeit a bit more transparent, are also not so keen on sharing insights about their investigations. So, fieldwork and court documentation it is. A source passed thousands of pages of messages from SKY ECC, an encrypted communication platform hacked by Belgium, Dutch and French police in 2019.

So, then you find yourself stuck into pages and pages of conversation of criminals, in Serbian, often in slang and laced with swearwords (I learned a word or two). (Also, what is up with thugs texting hearts and smilies?). The results of our investigation were published in De Morgen, NRC (also listen to the story here) and Vreme.

Oh and my exploration on the holiday park in Brabant – besides a nice conversation with the elderly couple, a great patat met mayo, and a wild story about a poor chicken farmer murdered by drugscriminals — that lead proved to be unfruitful.

Kasnije brate,

Ingrid (plus reporting buddy of the day)

Ps. Do read the recently published and excellent report “Cocaine connections: Links between the Western Balkans and South America” authored by Fatjona Mejdini at the Global Initiative against Transorganised Crime! Also watch the webinar here.

What you need to know

Armed Afghan gang terrorizing migrants crossing Bosnia. An armed Afghan gang known as BWK has been operating in Bosnia and Herzegovina, kidnapping asylum seekers and demanding ransoms from their families. Their tactics include physical abuse, psychological torture, and, in some cases, sexual assault, with ransom demands reaching up to 6,000 euros, paid in Turkey, writes Balkan Insight.

The smugglers’ tactics have changed to adapt to a tightening of the EU’s external frontier. With fewer ‘customers’, the smugglers have embraced more violence, adding theft, kidnapping and extortion to their portfolio and preying in particular on victims of ‘pushbacks’ by border police. Some excellent on the ground reporting from Sara Dragojlo and Tommi Siviero for Balkan Insight. Many congratulations!

Serbian students from Novi Sad are cycling to Strasburg. With this ride, students want to raise awareness among European officials about recent political developments in Serbia. The students plan to submit letters to the Council of Europe and European Parliament. They plan to cover up to 150 kilometers per day.

Dodik was in Russia, and then back home again. Whilst the international community was debating on whether or not Milorad Dodik should be issued an Interpol issued international arrest warrant, the president of RS visited Russia. He met with Putin, and proudly broadcasted that on his Instagram account. Amidst fears that he would seek refuge in Moscow, in a later Instagram post, Dodik (somewhat humourisly, perhaps) wrote, when back in Banja Luka, “I have arrived”.

Also lost on what is happening in Bosnia at the moment? Listen to Marjolein explain what is going on in Bosnia-Herzegovina at the moment on BNR’s Perestrjokast.

Heavy rainfall affected central and northern Bosnia and Herzegovina and the northeast part of Croatia. The situation as of March 30 was critical in Prijedor, where a state of emergency was declared. The Sana River overflowed, also reaching critical points in the towns of Raskovac, Puharska, Gomjenica and Tukovi.

In other news

Blagojevick has a new gig, working for the Bosnian bear. ​Former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, pardoned by President Donald Trump, has been hired to lobby for the Republic of Srpska, a Serb-majority territory in Bosnia and Herzegovina. His firm, RRB Strategies, will provide communications and public affairs support, aiming to revisit the Dayton Agreement to reflect current realities, reports Politico.

A beautiful ancient wedding ceremony in Bulgaria persists. The Pomaks, a Muslim minority in Bulgaria, uphold centuries-old wedding traditions. DW’s correspondent followed a couple throughout their two-day wedding celebration

Russians in Serbia. Tens of thousands of young Russians have moved to Serbia since the invasion of Ukraine, as the country maintains good relations with Putin's Russia. The Russian community in Belgrade lives in its own bubble, where politics is a taboo subject. "This is Russia, but outside of Russia." Read Rosa van Gool’s article.

Meme of the week (well a video this week)

How do you become 104? Well – rakija? This Rakija company from Central Serbia made this advertisement, which, honestly, made us both laugh quite a bit!

Speaking about alcohol. The month of Ramazan just ended and this picture below from Bosnia made it’s yearly comeback.

Tips

Watch our film (made by Ingrid Gercama, Vanja Stokic, Ajdin Kamber and Gianluca Livu) on illegal poaching of quails on the Balkans by Italian hunters here. The film was also presented by Vanja and screened by N1 in Bosnia last week.

Your favorite hosts from Balkan Unscripted are (almost) always travelling and lack having pictures together. So here’s a nice screenshot of us being digitally together <3. Marjolein says hi from Bosnia and will share a story from Višegrad with you next time. Cao!

Being a freelance journalist covering foreign news offers a mix of thrill, uncertainty, and strategic guesswork. The Balkans, in particular, present a unique challenge in itself: it is considered by many news agencies as a region with low news activity. Of course, we think differently, but most events happening in the Balkans aren’t necessarily always seen as relevant, which is also why almost no foreign correspondents are based in the region. Many media outlets we work fo don’t provide enough coverage —or funding — to justify a full-time position.

But then there are moments when everyone suddenly jumps in at once. Case in point - the massive protests in Belgrade on March 15. And guess what? We were not there. Marjolein betted on Belgrade in January, believing in post-holiday momentum. Ingrid was in Serbia when the disaster struck in Novi Sad, covered the first protest, and was back in February. We were both gutted to miss this week’s protests.

We both had other work related obligations. But that too is the reality of freelancing. Unlike staff writers for newspapers or other news outlets, we don’t get paid by the hour or day. Instead, we survive by lining up stories. When breaking news hits, we can’t always afford to drop everything. And that is perhaps the most frustrating part of this beautiful job. On the other hand, we have the luxury to take a deep dive into the topics we love. Spending weeks, sometimes even months researching something, not having the obligation to also report on the fast-paced daily news.

At least we’re in good company. Balkan veteran Marcel van der Steen once shared his worst timing blunder: in 2011, while covering the region for Dutch media from Sarajevo, he was on a flight to the Netherlands, right as Ratko Mladić was arrested. By the time he landed and turned his phone on, the number of missed calls and messages with frantic editor requests piled up. He did catch the next flight back, but by then, Serbia was swarming with foreign journalists. That golden advantage of being the reporter on the ground? Gone.

Every time Marjolein misses a big story, she thinks of Marcel and finds comfort in the fact it can always be worse. Thanks for taking one for the team, Marcel 😉(That said, Marcel didn’t miss out this time and took a flight to Belgrade last Saturday).

But don’t worry - we're gearing up for the next chapter!

Vidimo se!

Ingrid and Marjolein

Things you need to know

Thousands in North Macedonia mourned the 59 victims of a deadly nightclub fire in Kocani, which lacked fire safety measures and operated illegally. Grief quickly turned to outrage, sparking protests and rallies over corruption linked to the club’s licensing. Authorities have detained over 20 people while launching nationwide inspections.

Memorial rally for the victims of the nightclub fire. EPA-EFE/GEORGI LICOVSKI

On 15 March, one of Serbia’s largest anti-regime protests ever took place in Belgrade. Allegations of an illegal sonic weapon use have further escalated the tensions, which the Belgrade Centre for Security Policy called a blatant attempt by the regime to incite chaos. They also warn that Vučić is exceeding his constitutional powers by exerting pressure on police officers and openly violating the Police Act.

An appeal by the international academic community regarding events in Serbia has gathered signatures from over 2,000 researchers, including eminent scholars such as Slavoj Žižek, Judith Butler, Francis Fukuyama and Nobel Prize laureate Annie Ernaux.

Throwing eggs at Vucic’s regime officials and supporters is still trending in Serbia.

The 16th victim of the Novi Sad disaster dies. A 19-year-old student died on Friday in a hospital in Belgrade, becoming the 16th fatality of the Novi Sad railway station disaster. The victim was a student at the Svetozar Miletic Secondary School of Economics. Classmates gathered to pay tribute to their friend and schoolmate.

Arrest warrant for Dodik. As the political crisis in Bosnia continues to escalate, the state court issued a new nationwide arrest warrant for the President of Bosnia’s Serb-dominated Republika Srpska entity, Milorad Dodik, along with RS Prime Minister Radovan Viskovic and entity assembly speaker Nenad Stevandic. All three are suspected of an “attack on the constitutional order”. This warrant means that any police officer who encounters Dodik must arrest him immediately. He had planned to travel to Russia and Serbia, but those trips were canceled—both Putin and Vučić reportedly didn’t have time for him. So now Dodik seems busy posting pictures of him drinking coffee with the friends he has left, claiming at the same time he is not afraid of this arrest warrant. For now, Banja Luka is his small safe haven, but it’s likely only a matter of time before he is either arrested or forced to flee.

Marjolein - with Nerko Hadziarapovic and NOS-correspondent for the Balkans and Greece, Thijs Kettenis - talked about the tensions in Bosnia-Herzegovina and the consequences of the arrestwarant of Dodik on the latest episode of The Balkanman.

Deadly pollution continues unchecked in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Lukavac remains the most polluted city in the country, with residents exposed daily to toxic fumes and hazardous pollution. Despite a decade of activism pushing for stricter regulations, little progress has been made. Read more at Naratorium.

Women in North Macedonia’s Albanian minority have to navigate a difficult web of challenges — the country’s simmering ethnic tensions, strict gender roles in their own community, and wider economic struggles. Despite all the obstacles, Ajshe Avdiji, a mother of two, pursues motorsports. Video by DW’s Vjosa Cerkini.

Movie recommendations

For those in the Netherlands: the Movies that Matter festival in The Hague has started and it has programmed quite some movies from the Balkans. Here’s a list of recommendations:

- The Srebrenica Tape - From Dad, for Alisa. In possession of a rare VHS tape shot by her father during the enclave years of Srebrenica, Alisa goes on a journey to uncover the history of her war-torn family, in search of understanding and healing. An intimate search for traces and a journey back to the enclave years of Srebrenica and the genocide of July 1995.

- Home Game. Acclaimed filmmaker Lidija Zelovic has been portraying her displaced family in the Netherlands since 1993, when they fled war-torn Sarajevo, in her own unique style and with self-deprecating humour. Zelovic’s film essay exposes the duality that all migrants live with: what is ‘home’? She draws attention to social and political developments in the Netherlands that she recognises from her fractured homeland, Yugoslavia.

- The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent. February 27, 1993, Štrpci, Bosnia and Herzegovina. A passenger train from Belgrade to Bar is stopped by paramilitary forces in an ethnic cleansing operation. As they haul off innocent civilians, only one man out of 500 passengers dares to stand up to them. This is the true story of a man who could not remain silent.

Meme of the week

This meme was shared by Vinko Šarac, a museum curator from Tomislavgrad! Thanks Vinko! For context, SIPA is Bosnia and Herzegovina's primary law enforcement agency, tasked with combating serious crimes such as organised crime, terrorism, corruption, war crimes, and financial fraud. Right now, it's going after Dodik…

Hi, from us

We’re Ingrid & Marjolein, two freelance journalists covering the Balkans. One Saturday night — after a few glasses of rakija — this newsletter was born. In each edition, we share stories that catch our eye, the ones worth reading, along with our observations from reporting in the region. So grab a coffee (or a rakija) and join us.

Hi all,

Even though the last two weeks in the Balkans were all about Dodik’s trial and the chaos in Serbia’s parliament (more below), I think it’s also important to write about other stuff than nationalist politicians and their pursuit of dominance and control.

Let’s talk about some powerful, inspiring and creative women instead.

Last January, when I (Marjolein) was in Sarajevo, I visited the exhibition ‘Modra, Ljubičasta, Zelena, Žuta’, which is about violence against women by the feminist collective Crvena. The title of the exhibition refers to the colors that a bruise gets over time. Sadly, the exhibition is no longer open, but, still, I would like to take this opportunity to highlight its significance and honor the artists.

I was welcomed by Alma Gačanin, one of the artists who contributed to this exhibition. She told me how she normally creates work about women who are strong, outspoken, fierce, for example by portraying them in, for example, animal prints and with a whip. It is clear — these women are in charge. Her paintings in this exhibition, however, showed the more vulnerable side of female life in the Balkans.

I was touched by the images — in mind the stories about violence against women in Bosnia. Not only news articles about femicide, but also from other reporting. Like the horrible example of a man who live streamed killing his ex-wife, two others and himself. The woman did seek police protection, but unfortunately institutions did not act on her appeals. Too often, I hear stories like these — not just from the media, but also from women whom I know personally (as well as their family members).

Another piece in this exhibition I would like to share is ‘Draga Irena’, a neon light hanging on the balcony of the corner apartment where the exhibition was held. Milena Ivic made this to show solidarity with Irena Karic, a women who, after many years of terror, abuse and sexual violence, killed her husband. She was convicted of murder and is serving a sentence of 9 years and 6 months in prison. Inside the exhibition there were postcards that would be delivered to Irena, to give her support.

The case of Irena is certainly not rare in Bosnia and neighbouring countries. For years women have had to endure violence and humiliation from their partner. Institutions do not give adequate support, refrain from punishing the perpetrators or simply don’t listen. As a result, many Balkans women’s prisons are full of women who have murdered their husbands or ex-partners. It reminded me of this photo series I recently saw, of female prisoners in Moldova.

So last Saturday 8th of March, International Women's Day, was certainly not a day of celebration, but a much needed (sometimes cheerful) fight for equal rights.

čuvaj se!

Marjolein

What you need to know

Milorad Dodik, the president of Republika Srpska in Bosnia-Herzegovina, rejects prosecutor summons over separatist laws. He has barred Bosnian authorities from Republika Srpska , sparking fears of a ‘coup’ that could break up Bosnia.

• Feb 26. Dodik was sentenced to a year in prison and given a six year ban from politics by the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Sarajevo for defying the orders of High Representative Schmidt, overseeing the Dayton peace agreement.

• March 6. Dodik passed several controversial laws. For example, one declaring that decisions made by Bosnia's Constitutional Court are not applicable within the RS, rejecting the court's authority in the entity. He also prohibited the operations of the BiH Court and Prosecutor’s Office and other law enforcement actors, and established a separate judicial and prosecutorial council. He also passed the “foreign agent law”, which increased governmental control over NGO’s and media in the RS and reintroduced the criminalization of defamation.

• March 7. Bosnia's Constitutional Court temporarily suspended Dodik’s laws. The court labeled these laws as a threat to the constitutional order, following appeals from politicians who viewed the legislation as an attack on BiH's sovereignty. Dodik has rejected the court's authority and vowed to ignore the verdict. International reactions include condemnation from the EU and expressions of concern from the U.S. Embassy in Bosnia. Russia has shown support for Dodik.

• March 10. NATO’s Secretary-general Mark Rutte visited Sarajevo and said NATO is committed to and fully supports the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. He also highlighted that its up to the three members of the presidency to take responsibility for the stability and security of the country.

It’s has become almost impossible to keep up with everything Dodik is saying, or not saying. Tomorrow a new episode of our favorite podcast De Balkanman will be made available online, with some more discussions about the court case and consequences.

Serbia's parliament descended into chaos on March 4, 2025. Opposition lawmakers in Serbia accused the ruling majority of trying to pass multiple decisions without confirming Prime Minister Milos Vucevic's resignation, leading to protests where they blew whistles and displayed banners reading, "Serbia has risen so the regime would fall!" The situation escalated with flares and smoke bombs inside the assembly hall. Outside, eggs were being thrown. At least three lawmakers were injured. This violent episode once again underscores Serbia's deepening political crisis.

Albania’s TikTok ban. Albania's Minister of Education confirmed the year-long ban on social media site TikTok. PM Edi Rama first proposed a ban in Dec., a month after the fatal stabbing of a 14-year-old following a series of arguments on social media.

Quirky corner

Romania’s failed ‘Vlad the Impaler’ coup. The Romanian government detained six people for allegedly seeking Russian support to overthrow the government. The group, named “Vlad the Impaler Command” after Romania’s medieval ruler who served as inspiration for Dracula, included 101-year-old retired general Radu Theodoru, who is known for his antisemitic views. Two members of the group traveled to Moscow in January and allegedly contacted Russian agents to discuss Romania's withdrawal from NATO, the dissolution of political parties, and the establishment of a new government. Romania expelled two Russian diplomats.

Egg throwing techniques. Protestors in front of the Serbian parliament were photographed throwing eggs (and other stuff) on the government building, where MPs were holding a parliamentary session earlier this week. On X, people showed exactly who protestors really took an aim at. Belgrade based documentary photographer Sanja Knežević also managed to capture the best techniques for throwing the eggs.

The end of the winter. Across the Balkan, carnival takes place on the last day before Easter fasting. Symbolically, carnaval marks the end of winter and, in some countries, is aimed at chasing away evil spirits, praising fertility and upcoming spring. Look at some of these beautiful photos of carnival of Kamarades collective in Belgrade.

Meme of the week

Minister Aleksandar Vulin, Serbia’s ex-spy chief, seems unfazed (perhaps even amused) by this week’s turmoil in the Serbian parliament. His reactions have sparked an outburst of meme’s on TikTok. Some social media users, for example, think Vulin would not do too badly at the popular Exit-music festival in Novi Sad… (see below).

Others parodied the scene in the parliament as a gender reveal party goes wrong…

Quiz question

Question of the week. Why do Serbian criminals love the Netherlands?

To find the answer, read this investigation in NRC - which was written by Ingrid Gercama, Mark Middel en Nemanja Rujevic, looking at the links between organized criminals - dealing in narcotics, operating in the Netherlands and Serbia.

Hi, from us

We’re Ingrid & Marjolein, two freelance journalists covering the Balkans. One Saturday night — after a few glasses of rakija — this newsletter was born. In each edition, we share stories that catch our eye, the ones worth reading, along with our observations from reporting in the region. So grab a coffee (or a rakija) and join us.

Greetings from the lovely but misty Livno (Bosnia) where I (Ingrid) am for a few days for a screening of our short film on illicit quail hunting on the Balkan. But, more about that later! For now, a report from my hometown Amsterdam!

Last week, the De Balie in Amsterdam hosted investigative journalist Stevan Dojčinović from KRIK in Belgrade to talk about the Serbian student protests, in light of KRIK’s investigative work on corruption, the rule of law, and organised crime.

The million dollar question – will president Aleksandar Vučić be able to fulfil the student’s request of prosecuting all responsible for the deadly Novi Sad train station disaster? Or not? And where will that leave the protest movement?

“He can not prosecute to the end”, says Dojčinović. Vučić, a “micromanager”, is “involved in all decisions” when it comes to such infrastructure projects. He would have been informed and consulted on the construction project in Novi Sad’, says Dojčinović. Under the SNS, he says: “corruption can be found in every part of society”.

KRIK is currently facing more SLAPP lawsuits than that they have journalists working on stories, says Dojčinović. The newsroom is also targeted by misinformation and slander from pro-regime media in Serbia. In one of the more tragic attempts, a few years back, Dojčinović was named a “sadomasochistic French spy” by Informer.

In Amsterdam, Dojčinović also discussed why there are no EU-flags to be seen at the student protests with EU-parliamentarian Thijs Reuten (PVDA/Groen Links) and how to effectively fight autocracy with prof. Antoaneta Dimitrova (Leiden University). (And much more). You can watch the full recording of the Freedom Lecture here.

Vidimo se!

Ingrid

Ps. For more on the student protests, listen to David Jan Godfroid, Marcel van der Steen and myself talk about it in the first episode of the new season of De Balkanman. Also, see the beautiful photos of Kamarades, who are capturing the student movement.

Things you need to know

Dodik’s sentence. Last Wednesday the closing arguments in the court case against Milorad Dodik, the current president of Republika Srpska in Bosnia-Herzegovina, were issued. Many people probably already forgot why he is in court. Was it because of corruption, genocide denial or just because he doesn’t abide by the constitution?

I (Marjolein) will break it down for you!

First of all, although he is accused of all the above, the case against Dodik primarily revolves around two events. In July last year, Dodik signed a law stating that decisions of the state-level constitutional court would be ignored, along with another amending legislation on publishing official acts. Schmidt, the High Representative overseeing the Dayton Peace Agreement in Bosnia, blocked the implementation of these laws, but Dodik proceeded regardless.

Prosecutor Nedim Ćosić has called for a prison sentence for Dodik, which could be up to five years, along with a ten-year ban on holding public office. I don’t think anyone can imagine that will really happen. Will Dodik end up behind bars? There is much to discuss about this trial, the threat it poses to Bosnia’s stability, and what comes next. We will certainly follow up when an actual prison sentence is announced.

For the Dutch readers (which at this point might be almost all of you), I would like to recommend you two articles that I (Marjolein) wrote:

There is a political crisis in Bosnia, but Brussel looks away, published in Nederlands Dagblad in July 2023.

2.17MB ∙ PDF file

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This article gives you more background about Dodiks decisions and how he is constantly testing the limits of the international community.

Download

'Pappen en nathouden is kwalijk'. The failed peace plan for Bosnia and Herzegovina, published in August 2024 in De Groene Amsterdammer.

264KB ∙ PDF file

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This article is about the position of the international community in Bosnia, specifically about the role of the High Representative and the EUFOR military peace mission that is still in Bosnia. How they are focused on maintaining the status quo, while in the long run this is disastrous for the country.

Download

Trump is considering nominating ex-Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, who served eight years in prison for corruption, to be the new U.S. ambassador to Serbia. Blagojevich, a former congressman and governor, had his sentence commuted by Trump in 2020, and he has since become a vocal Trump supporter. Blagojevich, whose father is from Serbia, appeared on Trump's reality TV show "Celebrity Apprentice".

A cargo ship with toxic waste is causing waves in the Albanian parliament. A ship with hazardous waste from Albania is anchored off Durrës after being rejected by Thailand. Albanian authorities are investigating potential smuggling and environmental contamination. The opposition accuses the government of a cover-up.

Sarajevans lay flowers for the latest victims of a brutal femicide case. In response to the tragic murders of Inela and her 13-year-old son in the Bosnian town of Kalesija, citizens of Sarajevo gathered last weekend in front of the State Parliament building to pay their respects. Both Kalesija and the neighbouring town of Lukavac, Inela's hometown, declared the day a mourning period as the victims were laid to rest.

Quirky corner

Batman spotted in Banja Luka. A mysterious figure dressed as Batman was spotted atop the Christ the Savior Cathedral in Banja Luka, Bosnia, causing a stir among locals. The stunt's motive remains unconfirmed (it may just have been a city worker in a raincoat), but it has sparked a wave of speculation and online jokes.

Is the Yugo making a comeback? The Yugo, a budget-friendly car from Yugoslavia, is being revived by Serbian professor Dr. Aleksandar Bjelić. The new Yugo will keep the retro look of the original but offer modern petrol and electric options.

Serbia’s Pink TV’s presenter Jovana Jeremić is reminding us that we should be unashamedly ourselves. There certainly is no one like her. For who do not know this sparkling show lady, read our NRC-colleague Nina Stefanovski’s article on her bizarre clothing choices and learn why Serbia’s students are not a big fan of this lady.

Meme of the week

Meme contribution by Marjolein: “My all-time favoriete —not just because it features cats, but because it perfectly represents how Bosnia is wedged between its neighbours, Croatia and Serbia. It’s something between a hug and a stranglehold—you decide for yourself how to interpret the expression on the middle cat’s face."

By the way, what are your favourite Balkan meme’s? Send us!

Quiz question

For last week's quizzzz question - the picture we shared was of Dona, one of Novi Sad’s “riot dogs”. Stray dogs like Dona are supporting Novi Sad’s students during their demonstrations. Dona, however, was sadly killed during a demonstration (see below). In her memory, citizens arranged a wake. Read more about it on BBC Na Srpskom.

Next questionnn: where was this image taken?

Tip!

Our favorite Mikstape! The Balkanman Mikstape, where Sarajevo based journalist Marcel van der Steen curates the best music from the Balkans with his guests.

Hi, from us

We’re Ingrid & Marjolein, two freelance journalists covering the Balkans. One Saturday night — after a few glasses of rakija — this newsletter was born. In each edition, we share stories that catch our eye, the ones worth reading, along with our observations from reporting in the region. So grab a coffee (or a rakija) and join us.

So, how do you pass the time when you're on the streets every day? If there’s one thing we've obsessed over while reporting in Belgrade, it’s how Serbia’s students have mastered the art of dissent. It looks spontaneous but make no mistake: it’s all meticulously prepared.

So, how do you fit in? What should you bring, do, and avoid?

Bring noise. A whistle, a vuvuzela, a megaphone, pans, a drum — anything loud will do.

Be ready for the long haul. Protests, particularly blockades, last for hours, sometimes days. Pack accordingly: books, card games, blankets, tents, food, and drinks.

Study the playbook. Read the “blockade cookbook” (read this article from Vreme). It is essential reading and freely available online. Key takeaways? Stay leaderless so the regime can’t single anyone out. And above all: stay peaceful, respectful but annoyingly persistant.

Sharpen your humour. You’ll need it for the banners. The best ones make fun of repressive institutions—the military police (Cobra forces Vučić threatens to send in “if he wanted to”), or the president himself. Exaggerate his most comical features (his lips?)

OK, enough – na blokade!

Marjolein and Ingrid

Things you need to know

Leaked emails and false promises. CINS takes on Rio Tinto Leaked emails reveal that Serbia’s Institute for Nature Conservation issued environmental conditions for Rio Tinto’s Jadar lithium project without expert approval. Internal objections warned of irreversible habitat destruction, but the Institute approved the conditions unchanged, raising concerns about the process’ integrity. The mine is poised to deliver lithium to the EU.

Bosnian students rally for justice, inspired by their colleagues in Serbia On February 10, 2025, at noon, a group of students organized a protest in front of Bosnia and Herzegovina's Parliament in response to the Jablanica tragedy, where 19 people lost their lives due to floods and landslides. They invited affected families, students from all faculties, and citizens to join them in demanding accountability from authorities. We would like to share these pictures from one of our favorite Bosnian photographers – Nidal Saljic.

Retailers in Croatia lose over €80 million as the boycott continues. In response to escalating price increases on basic products such as bread, eggs, vegetables and fruit, in January a boycott of supermarkets began in Croatia. The initiative came from a Facebook group called Halo, inspektore. According to Eurostat, since 2020, food prices in Croatia surged by 45%, surpassing the EU average increase of 33%. Although the boycott is working and spendings has dropped, it didn’t lead to lowered prices (yet). The boycott is spreading all over the Balkans, embroiling Serbia, Bosnia, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Bulgaria.

Imam’s Attack on Queer Bosnian Singer Triggers Rare Intervention. Bozo Vreco is one of Bosnia’s most well known singers, not only because of his beautiful voice, but also because of his remarkable appearance. Vreco describes himself as a "free" person who is male and female and on stage he plays with gender stereotypes. This is sometimes seen as controversial, particularly among the more conservative and patriarchal parts of the Balkans. After a Sarajevo imam insulted Vreco, calling him a ‘monster’, the Grand Mufti showed that this is not representative of what Bosnian islam thinks, “I want to assure you that Bosnia has enough openness to embrace all those who, in their pursuit of personal happiness, respect diversity and show reverence for what others hold sacred,” he wrote.

In case you don’t know Bozo Vreco and his music:

Quirky corner

Edi Rama, Albania’s prime minister, lost his temperduring a live stream on Instagram. Maybe he is angry and stressed because his party member and the mayor of Tirana Erion Veliaj was arrested on the suspicion of corruption and money-laundering? Or maybe this is just another show from Rama? Who knows, but it is entertaining nonetheless.

The Happy Machine: Rakija and Regulation in the Balkans. Though rakija exports are up, registered production is still dwarfed by front-yard distillation for personal consumption. The threat of regulation, however, lurks on the horizon. Read about it in Balkan Insight.

Meme of the week

Depending on geopolitical context and whoever is the president of the USA, Milorad Dodik either loves or hates USAID, remarked online magazine BUKA from Banja Luka.

Quiz question

Who is Dona? (see on the image below). And why did students in Novi Sad organise a wake for her? Do send us your answer and win a free coffee with us!

Hi, from us

We’re Ingrid & Marjolein, two freelance journalists covering the Balkans. One Saturday night — after a few glasses of rakija — this newsletter was born. Three days later, here we are. In each edition, we share stories that catch our eye, the ones worth reading, along with our observations from reporting in the region. So grab a coffee — or a rakija — and join us.