Two grieving fathers from across Bosnia’s ethnic divide having been calling for justice for sons they believe were killed in separate murders covered up by the police. Thousands have joined them in solidarity.
David Dragicevic, 21, an ethnic Serb student, was found in a river in March a week after he went missing in the northwestern town of Banja Luka. Dzenan Memic, 22, a Muslim, died of wounds to his head in the capital Sarajevo in 2016.
Thousands of protesters gathered at 6pm on Friday, October 5th in the Bosnian capital, Sarajevo, and in the main city of Bosnia’s Serb-dominated entity, Republika Srpska, Banja Luka, urging the authorities to resolve the unsolved deaths of two young men.
For over six months, people have gathered daily at 6pm in Banja Luka’s Krajina Square, which has become known as “David’s Square”, to protest over the unexplained death of 21-year-old David Dragicevic.
Friday’s mass protest in Banja Luka drew a crowd of up to 40,000 people, according to media reports, who came by busses from many Bosnian towns.
Media have speculated about a possible conflict between SNSD supporters and those gathering for the Justice for David rally, whose Facebook page has 239,000 supporters.
