Following a new case of femicide, in which 32-year-old Aldina Jahić was killed in Mostar on Sunday, a protest march has been announced in the city for today. The Citizens' Initiative has called on citizens to gather at Spanish Square and peacefully protest to send a message against the increasing violence against women in Bosnia and Herzegovina. As reported by Sarajevo media, the organizers emphasize that they want to draw public attention to the problem of femicide and demand that this crime not go unpunished.
"We also want to send a clear message that the femicide committed in Mostar, the murder of Aldina Jahić, must not go unpunished and that it should serve as a warning to us not to turn a blind eye to violence," the organizers stated.
Aldina Jahić was shot dead in Mostar by her ex-boyfriend Anis Kalajdžić, a football referee in the First League of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. He attacked her on her way to training, after which he pulled out a gun. Aldina tried to escape to a nearby hotel and take shelter, but the attacker entered after her and shot her dead.
This is another in a series of cases of femicide in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the last few years, for which there is no official and precise data, while civil society organizations estimate that there are around 11 murders per year, Radio Free Europe reported.
The Minister of Interior of the Herzegovina-Neretva Canton, Mario Marić, announced that the crime occurred on Sunday around 18 p.m., and that the victim called the police shortly before the murder, reporting that her ex-partner was chasing her with a gun.
The patrol arrived within minutes, but the murder had been committed in the meantime.
The police stated that they had no information that Kalajdžić had attempted suicide, and that Jahić had not previously reported violence, despite media reports that the suspect had sent her threatening messages.
Marić added that Kalajdžić never had a weapons permit, nor did he apply for one. He had previously been prosecuted for endangering security, following a report by his ex-girlfriend.
"In January of this year, a female person reported a suspect for similar matters, and a report was filed against him for the criminal offense of endangering security with the competent prosecutor's office, which was filed by the competent Mostar police department," said Mirza Rožajac, head of the Criminal Police Sector of the HNK Ministry of Interior.
In that case, as Rožajac said, an indictment was filed against Kalajdžić at the Municipal Court in Mostar.
"I think the hearing was scheduled for some future period," said the head of the HNK Criminal Police Sector.
Following the murder in Mostar, the European Union Delegation to Bosnia and Herzegovina called on the authorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina “to strengthen systemic responses to gender-based violence and the implementation of existing laws.” “The session of the House of Representatives of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina on Wednesday must mark a decisive step towards change,” they said in a post on social media.
At the beginning of this year, the government in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, faced with protests over the rising number of murders of women, passed a law announcing more efficient protection for victims of domestic violence, but the planned measures did not "take off" due to the failure to adopt the necessary regulations, RFE/RL reminds us.
After Nizama Hećimović from Gradačac was murdered by her ex-partner in August 2023, protests across the country demanded more effective action by institutions in protecting women and prosecuting those responsible for violence. Before she was murdered, 38-year-old Nizama had approached the police and court, seeking measures and a restraining order, but her request was rejected because the court assessed that there was no evidence.
It was one of the most brutal cases of female murder in BiH, after which the entity authorities, under pressure from protests, adopted legal changes promising better protection of women from perpetrators.
The amended Law on Protection from Domestic Violence entered into force in March this year, followed by amendments to the Criminal Code that included femicide as a separate criminal offense.
Amendments to the Law on Protection from Domestic Violence, among other things, have expanded the powers of the police, who are now obliged to assess the risk of mortality and recurrence of violence after a reported incident of violence, RFE/RL reports.
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