Bosnian-Croat president charged with abuse of power
The president of Bosnia-Herzegovina’s Muslim-Croat federation has been charged with abuse of power for allegedly pardoning criminals.
Prosecutors say Zivko Budimir illegally pardoned 27 people, including convicted murderers, tax evaders and drug dealers.
Budimir, who was arrested earlier this year and released, denies the charges.
Bosnia has been split into a Muslim-Croat Federation and a Serb Republic since the end of the Bosnian war in 1995. Each entity has its own administration, and the country is held together by a weak central body.
The federal presidency is filled on a rotation basis, as Muslims, Croats, and Serbs take turns having a member of their group serve as president.
The West says this arrangement, along with simmering ethnic tensions, discourage investment in Bosnia and its full integration into Europe.
Source: VOANews.com
(Photo: Jennifer Boyer/flickr.com)