A new dispute has emerged over property belonging to the Serbian Orthodox Church in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, involving approximately 300 square meters of church-owned land in the Bugojno parish.
According to local parish priest Slaviša Đurić, the Idrizović family is attempting to claim ownership of the property and has allegedly used its influence over the municipal cadastre and urban planning authorities to prevent the Church from exercising or protecting its property rights.
The land has previously been the subject of legal proceedings. According to the report, the property was returned to the Serbian Orthodox Church through a final court decision in 2019. It also recalls that, in 2013, the Municipality of Bugojno transferred part of the Church’s property to the Islamic Community, where a new building was subsequently constructed.
“This is a building of defiance. I appealed to the Mufti to halt the construction, but I was told that the Islamic Community was in the right,” Đurić said.
According to the parish priest, members of the Idrizović family, some of whom are affiliated with the Party of Democratic Action (SDA), are behind the latest property dispute. The family already owns a large residential and commercial building near the contested land.
Đorđe Radanović, President of the Committee for the Protection of Serb Rights in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, argued that repeated legal proceedings are placing a financial burden on the Serbian Orthodox Church.
“These legal disputes exhaust the Church through court fees and legal expenses. The church itself was completely destroyed during the war. The message being sent is that if church property can be taken, private Serb property is even more vulnerable,” Radanović said.
According to the report, most of the Serb population was displaced from Bugojno during the 1992 conflict, and only 44 Serb residents remain in the municipality today.
The Republika Srpska Secretariat for Displaced Persons and Migration described the case as part of what it called a long-term pattern of unlawful confiscation of Serb-owned property in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, arguing that such actions undermine the return of displaced persons.
Acting Director Slađan Jović contrasted the treatment of Serb returnees in the Federation with that of Bosniak returnees in Republika Srpska, claiming that Serb returnees do not receive equal institutional protection.
The Ministry of Justice of Republika Srpska stated that it has been informed of the case. Minister Goran Selak said the institutions of Republika Srpska would provide legal and organizational assistance in efforts to protect Church property from what he described as unlawful appropriation.
Officials from Republika Srpska also called on international representatives to respond to the case. National Assembly Speaker Nenad Stevandić urged European Union ambassadors in Bosnia and Herzegovina to react and support the protection of Serb property rights.
RTRS reported that it requested a comment from the Delegation of the European Union to Bosnia and Herzegovina but had not received a response at the time of publication.
Source: RTRS
