Truckers’ border protest banned in West Herzegovina Canton, police warn of sanctions

The Police Administration of the West Herzegovina Canton Interior Ministry said police departments in Grude and Ljubuski issued formal decisions prohibiting the protest titled “Third Call – Final Announcement of Operational Protests,” which had been announced for March 23, 2026 at border crossings.

The decisions were officially delivered to the Plenum of the Logistics Consortium of Bosnia and Herzegovina, police said.

According to the statement, the canton’s Law on Peaceful Assembly allows authorities to restrict gatherings on main, regional and local roads if they would disrupt traffic, as well as near border crossings if they would obstruct the movement of people and vehicles.

Police said the protest application itself indicated that the gathering would likely block or seriously hinder traffic, especially on major road and border routes. Authorities warned this could disrupt the transport of goods, food supplies and basic necessities, while also affecting the work of emergency services.

They also said the submitted notifications did not meet the basic legal requirements under the canton’s law on public assembly.

“Any attempt to hold the protest contrary to the issued decisions would be subject to legal sanctions,” the police statement said, while adding that authorities support the right to peaceful assembly “exclusively within the framework of the law” and understand the challenges facing the transport sector.

The planned action comes after Bosnian transport operators announced they could block all border crossings over what they describe as unfair treatment by the European Union toward professional drivers from Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Truckers say their main grievance is the EU’s “90 in 180 days” rule, which they argue is being applied in a way that harms drivers working international routes. They have also complained of drivers being turned back at the Croatian border, detained and mistreated.

In an interview with N1, transporter Igor Beben said drivers feel “humiliated” and face losing their livelihoods. The group had previously given authorities a 72-hour deadline before moving ahead with protests.