Student activists halt campaign in Bosnia and Herzegovina after incidents

Activists from the Serbian electoral list ‘Studenti pobeđuju’ (Students Win) have suspended their ‘Student in Every Village’ campaign across Bosnia and Herzegovina following a series of incidents. The group reported facing police intervention in Brčko and Doboj, as well as physical and verbal attacks in Višegrad.

In Višegrad, a video captured men confronting students, seizing promotional materials, and questioning them about war crimes figures such as Ratko Mladić. One individual identified in reports as former border police commander Radomir Vasić was seen engaging with the group. In Brčko, police initiated misdemeanor proceedings against two organizers, citing a failure to report the gathering in accordance with local laws.

Additionally, hate speech graffiti was discovered in a school courtyard in Brčko. The Mayor of Brčko, Siniša Milić, condemned the messages, calling for institutional responses to prevent social division. The Kuća ljudskih prava (House of Human Rights) in Banja Luka condemned the police conduct and the attacks on students, demanding independent investigations into the treatment of the activists.