The European Union (EU) Delegation has expressed its concern over arrests on Tuesday in Bosnia and Herzegovina’s (BiH’s) city of Banja Luka, located 206 kilometers northwest of the capital Sarajevo.
“The European Union Delegation and the Office of the EU Special Representative in BiH are deeply concerned with the situation in Banja Luka,” Delegation of EU to BiH website stated on Tuesday.
Since March 18, 2018, Davor Dragicevic, father of tragically deceased 21 years old boy named David Dragicevic, is protesting every day in the center of Banja Luka, together with a hundred other people. The arrest of Dragicevic and opposition partners was conducted on Tuesday morning by the local police, provoking unrest by residents of Banja Luka.
“We have asked the Republika Srpska Ministry of Interior for an immediate explanation of the ongoing arrests of different persons associated with the “Justice for David” movement, including Davor Dragicevic as well as opposition politicians,” Delegation of EU to BiH urged.
After meeting with Dragicevic, Ambassadors of all EU Member States present in BiH, together with the Head of EU Delegation and EU Special Representative in BiH Ambassador Lars-Gunnar Wigemark, noted his tireless efforts to peacefully seek out justice for the death of his son.
EU Delegation to BiH concluded that the events in Banja Luka send a negative and alarming signal about the state of rule of law in BiH.
“We are closely following the developments in Banja Luka and urges everyone to stay calm and refrain from violence,” EU Delegation to BiH urged.
On March 18, 2018, David Dragicevic engaged in a fight for a short time, and on midnight, he went to a local café alone, and to a local bakery around 2:50 am, Chief of the Department for Organized Crime of Republika Srpska, Darko Ilic confirmed at a press conference held in March this year. According to pathologies Zeljko Karan, the death occurred by drowning in the river, but the injuries he had previously suffered from the body were also noticed.
The lifeless body was taken from Vrbas River in Banja Luka on March 24, 2018, after his family reported his disappearance on March 18.
(Photo: b92)
