Police question Bosnia genocide memorial director for 'inciting hatred'

Bosnian police on Monday questioned the director of Bosnia's Srebrenica Memorial Centre for massacre victims for "incitement to hatred".

The massacre in July 1995 of Muslim men and boys by Bosnian Serb forces during the country's inter-ethnic war is considered the worst atrocity in Europe since World War II and became a symbol of "ethnic cleansing".

Emir Suljagic, a survivor of the massacre, was summoned four days after the UN General Assembly voted to establish an annual day of remembrance for the 1995 Srebrenica genocide, despite furious Bosnian Serb opposition.

The complaint against Suljagic was lodged in July 2022 by Bosnian Croat politician Slaven Raguz, after what he considered to be veiled threats against Bosnian Serbs and Croats.

Suljagic revealed the questioning in a message on social media, which accused the Bosnian prosecutor's office of wanting to "silence" him.

"It is clear that the prosecutors' office is attempting to silence those of us who are committed to preserving the memory of the horrific events that transpired in Srebrenica and all across Bosnia," he said on X, formerly Twitter.

Suljagic said he was "deeply troubled" by the interrogation and called the accusations "baseless".

His lawyer Senad Pecanin told reporters the memorial centre chief had "refused to make a statement" as "the opening of the investigation (was) illegal".