Law and disorder
A wave of new laws in Republika Srpska, a Romanian presidential candidate in legal trouble, and Turkey’s escalating crackdown on the opposition.
Hiya,
welcome back! This is Balkan Brew, the freshest Balkan newsletter, delivered to your inbox every Friday morning.
We hope you enjoyed yesterday’s special issue, focused on the verdict against President of the Republika Srpska Entity Milorad Dodik.
Today, we start with a few updates on that, before diving into Romania’s own struggles with justice. Finally, we’ll take a brief look at Turkey and the crackdown on the opposition.
Without further ado, let’s begin.
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Law and disorder
In Bosnia and Herzegovina, yesterday’s drafts are today’s laws. The National Assembly of Republika Srpska (the country’s Serb entity) adopted all the draft laws proposed by the entity’s Government after Dodik’s guilty verdict—late last night, they became law.
Need some background? We got you—check out our special issue for a deep dive into what’s happened.
WHAT’S NEW. The new laws ban the Court of BiH, Prosecutor’s Office, State Investigation and Protection Agency (SIPA), and the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council of BiH from operating in Republika Srpska.
HOW? If you’re wondering “How is this legal?”—well… it isn’t. These institutions were established by laws passed in the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina. According to the BiH Constitution, abolishing them would require a vote in the Parliament of BiH—something that, needless to say, hasn’t happened.
NO DEFIANCE. Another law passed last night states that all RS employees working in BiH institutions face imprisonment and dismissal if they fail to comply with RS institutions' decisions.
MONITORING. The RS National Assembly also approved the establishment of a Special Register of Non-Profit Organizations in RS that are founded by foreign entities—designating them as agents of foreign influence. The law, modeled on Russian legislation, enables surveillance of foreign-funded NGOs.
FACT-CHECKING. The association Restart Srpska is pushing back against the RS government’s claims that USAID funds have been used to destabilize the entity. To challenge the narrative, they organized an exhibition showing exactly where the funds went. According to the organizers, 3% went to civil society organizations. 97% went to public institutions.
Bros and question marks
On Wednesday, Călin Georgescu—the pro-Russian populist who won the most votes in the first round of Romania’s presidential elections before the Constitutional Court annulled them over fears of Russian meddling—was questioned by Romanian police.
OUCH. Georgescu is facing charges including incitement to act against the constitutional order, spreading false information, and establishing a fascist organization.
WILL HE? WON’T HE? It’s unclear whether this investigation will affect Georgescu’s participation in the next presidential elections, scheduled for May 4 and 18. He isn’t under arrest—at least for now—but he’s banned from leaving the country for 60 days.
A POLITICAL EARTHQUAKE. We spoke with Veronica Anghel—a Romanian analyst and assistant professor at the Robert Schuman Centre—about the current situation in Romania, which she describes as a “political earthquake.” Hear what she had to say below.
SUPPORTERS #1. According to several polls, Georgescu remains the most popular candidate to become Romania’s next president.
SUPPORTERS #2. Several of Georgescu’s supporters—who largely see him as a victim of political persecution—staged a protest outside the police station where he was being questioned on Wednesday.
SUPPORTERS #3. Several bros from Trump’s administration have voiced their support for Georgescu in recent weeks. First came Vice President Vance, who accused the Romanian Constitutional Court of undermining democracy with its December ruling. Even Elon Musk has chimed in, backing Georgescu.
SPEAKING OF BROS. The Tate brothers, who were on trial in Romania for rape, trafficking of minors, and money laundering, have left the country and are now in the U.S.
PRESSURE? Andrew and Tristan Tate hold dual U.S.-UK citizenship, but it remains unclear why Romanian authorities allowed them to leave. Media speculation suggests the U.S. administration pressured Romania into letting them go. The two are popular figures among far-right circles and have publicly expressed support for Trump.
Cracking down hard
Alaattin Köseler, mayor of Beykoz District Municipality and a member of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), was arrested on Thursday in Istanbul. Along with him, 20 others were taken into custody on corruption charges.
A WIDE OPERATION. Köseler’s arrest is just the latest in a wave of detentions, investigations, and crackdowns on dissent in Turkey. In the past couple of weeks, nearly 300 people have been detained for various reasons, ranging from protesting to terrorism-related accusations.
AN INTERESTING READ. "As doubts grow over Washington’s defense commitments to Ukraine and the EU more broadly, Ankara’s role in regional security is likely to expand due to its existing force and weapons production capacities," writes Diego Cupolo in the newsletter Turkey Recap.
IN OTHER NEWS.
Serbian police have raided several NGOs partially funded by USAID. Belgrade prosecutor Nenad Stefanović stated that the operation aims to "identify possible misappropriation of U.S. taxpayers' funds."
It seems Serbian authorities are buying into Trump-era conspiracy theories about USAID—and Serbian tabloids are loving it. Informer, for example, ran a "scoop" claiming USAID funds were used "to finance anti-Serbian media" like the investigative journalism outlet OCCRP. The operation has been criticised as part of an attempt to attack civil society.
Meanwhile, Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama continues his battle against two of the country’s main anti-corruption bodies, SPAK (Special Structure Against Corruption and Organized Crime) and the Special Court. On Wednesday, he announced that he will no longer respect their restrictive measures.
And that’s it for this week! Thank you for reading Balkan Brew. If you spot a mistake, have something to add, or just want to say hi, don’t hesitate to reach out—we always love hearing your feedback.
You can also find us on Bluesky, the platform where what you did last week at the office doesn’t really matter that much. Come say hi: Rodolfo & Tommaso.
Until next Friday, take care.
BB