Bosnia and Herzegovina dismisses soldiers for glorifying Ratko Mladić

Bosnia and Herzegovina's Minister of Defense, Zukan Helez, has confirmed the dismissal of two members of the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina (OS BiH) for glorifying the convicted war criminal Ratko Mladić. Helez stated that the practice of honoring war criminals is unconstitutional and illegal, noting that the decision follows the collection of evidence regarding social media posts.

Helez further revealed that the Ministry of Defense has filed 37 reports against OS BiH personnel for activities glorifying Mladić, with ten of these being criminal reports forwarded to the Prosecutor's Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

In a separate but related incident, Milan Pećanac, a police officer in the Hercegbosanska Canton, was dismissed after posting content featuring Mladić on social media. This follows a pattern of professional sanctions across the region, including the dismissal of a doctor in Tomislavgrad and a surgeon in Orašje for similar social media activity.

Additionally, at the UN General Assembly, Bosnian President Denis Bećirović criticized the leadership of Serbia for institutional glorification of Mladić, describing it as an anti-civilizational act and a direct strike against UN values.