The Association of Victims and Witnesses of Genocide in BiH is dissatisfied with the Office of the High Representative’s (OHR) reaction to the statements by the President of the Federation (FBiH) entity, Lidija Bradar, regarding the war criminal Dario Kordic.

Namely, Bradara stated that the convicted war criminal Kordic “stopped being a war crime convict” after serving his sentence. The OHR decided to react to this statement on social networks, emphasizing the opposite.

“Verdicts of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) do not disappear after a prison sentence is served. War Crimes cannot be undone. The fact that a person has served their sentence does not mean that those crimes disappear, but that the individual was punished for their criminal responsibility. The High Representative expects real commitment from politicians to promote reconciliation by acknowledging the suffering of victims and the sentences imposed. HR is sure that the international community and the overwhelming majority of people in BiH share this clear position,” the OHR stated.

Verdicts of the #ICTY do not vanish after a prison sentence is served. War Crimes cannot be undone. The fact that a person has served their sentence does not mean that those crimes disappear but that the individual was punished for their criminal responsibility. 1-2

— OHR BiH (@OHR_BiH) March 13, 2023

The Association of Genocide Victims and Witnesses was not satisfied with this move.

“The OHR’s statement explaining to the FBiH President what the verdict means looks more like a rebuke to someone immature, and not a clear and firm determination to implement their own decisions and the decisions of their predecessors,” Association president Murat Tahirovic noted.

The Association asked Schmidt to dismiss the FBiH President, together with the Association of Citizens of War Victims from Ahmici.

“We believe that this is not a solution and we demand the dismissal or a public apology of the FBiH President as well as her visit to the Memorial Center in Ahmici. Everything else, including the OHR’s announcement, is an additional insult to the victims,” Tahirovic stressed.

Dario Kordic was sentenced to 25 years in prison in The Hague for war crimes against civilians in the village of Ahmici. He was released after serving two-thirds of his sentence.