Police launch investigation after swastikas and pig’s head found at Muslim cemetery in Mostar

Ilijana Milos, spokesperson for the Ministry of Interior of the Herzegovina-Neretva Canton (MUP HNK), confirmed to FENA that police were informed about the incident at around 9:30 am.

Police officers from MUP HNK soon arrived at the scene and secured the area where an investigation was being conducted. The on-duty prosecutor of the Herzegovina-Neretva Canton Prosecutor’s Office was also informed about the case.

The incident was strongly condemned by Mostar Mayor Mario Kordic, who described the act as unacceptable and an attack on the dignity of the deceased, their families and the values of mutual respect in the city.

"I received with deep concern the information about the desecration of the cemetery that Muslim believers in Mostar encountered this morning. Every act of vandalism against religious sites, cemeteries or places of final rest represents an attack on the dignity of the deceased, the feelings of their families and the values of mutual respect on which our city is built. Such actions have no justification and deserve the strongest condemnation," Kordic wrote on his Facebook profile.

The mayor added that he expects police and judicial authorities to determine all circumstances surrounding the incident as soon as possible, identify those responsible and take measures in accordance with the law.

Kordic also said that he had personally proposed a project to fence and protect the cemetery on Liska Street, where victims of the war in Mostar are buried, expressing hope that the initiative would soon be implemented in order to prevent similar incidents.

The Liska cemetery was also scheduled to host a commemoration marking the 34th anniversary of the formation of the First Mostar Brigade. However, the event was cancelled after organizers discovered the acts of vandalism at the site.

The investigation into the incident remains ongoing.