Fata Orlović won a dispute in Strasbourg: They must remove the church from the yard

BiH authorities were ordered to remove an Orthodox church that was built in the yard of a Muslim woman after Bosnian Serb forces killed 22 of her relatives in the vicinity of Srebrenica during the war and expelled her.

The final and binding judgment of the European Court of Human Rights should end the 20-year legal battle of Fata Orlović and her family members who escaped the Srebrenica massacre in 1995 and later returned to their village near Bratunac to find a 30-meter-high church in front of their house .

As stated in the verdict, it was unanimously decided that there was a violation of the article related to the protection of property. It is also stated that the authorities should ensure that the church is removed from the land within three months and that Fati Orlovic pay compensation in the amount of 5 euros and 000 euros to her relatives.

In 1993, Bosnian Serb forces drove all Muslims from Konjević Polje to Srebrenica, a UN safe zone, where 8 Muslims were killed two years later in the worst atrocity since World War II.

While Orlović was in exile, the Serbian authorities appropriated her land and built a church for Serbs who had left their homes in areas where most Muslims and Croats lived.

This was a common practice in Bosnia and Herzegovina, where churches, mosques and new communities emerged as part of a tactic that Western peace officials claim was aimed at preserving the results of ethnic cleansing.

The case of Fata Orlović highlights the problems faced by thousands of people who fled as a result of ethnic cleansing in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1992-95. and who wanted to return to their homes.

"This is a typical case of a returnee's right to property," said judge Faris Vehabović. "The only difference is that this has become a symbol of a persistent fight for justice for a woman and a family," he added.