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Banja Luka Court Again Postpones Trial Of Members Of ‘Justice For David ‘Group

A court in the Bosnian city of Banja Luka has postponed for the fourth time the start of a trial for 13 members of a movement campaigning for justice for a 21-year-old Bosnian Serb student whose unsolved murder has sparked mass protests in Republika Srpska — the Serb-dominated part of the country.

The 13 activists are charged with obstructing law and order for allegedly organizing a thousands-strong rally in Banja Luka on December 30, 2018, that called for those responsible for David Dragicevic’s death to be brought to justice.

The rally eventually turned violent, prompting clashes between protesters and riot police.

The trial was postponed on February 7 until further notice immediately after it opened because some of the accused who live abroad could not be served subpoenas.

Dragicevic, a technology student, disappeared in Banja Luka on the night of March 18, 2018. His body was found on March 24 at the confluence of the Crkvena and Vrbas rivers.

Police and prosecutors have said that Dragicevic drowned after being caught up in a fight at a cafe. They also said he was under the influence of drugs and alcohol.

However, Dragicevic’s parents have said he was abducted, tortured, and murdered, and accused police of involvement.

His father, Davor Dragicevic, who leads the list of the 13 accused, set up the Justice For David movement that has led regular demonstrations in Banja Luka and other Bosnian cities and towns to protest the authorities’ failure to solve the murder.

He went into hiding late last year after Bosnian authorities issued a warrant for his arrest following the December 30 rally.

Ozren Perduv, a member of Justice For David, told RFE/RL that the accused are charged with interrupting a New Year’s concert by a popular Balkan singer that never took place.

“There was no concert. It had been scheduled to start at 9 p.m. [on December 30, 2018] and we came around 10 p.m. There was almost nobody there, obviously, because the general atmosphere in the city in December of 2018 was that no one felt like celebrating [because of David’s unsolved murder],” Perduv said.

Protests around the case have also tapped into local discontent over widespread corruption and Bosnia’s weak economy.

Milorad Dodik, the Serb member of Bosnia’s multiethnic presidency, has called the protests “politically motivated” and denied there has been police wrongdoing.

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