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Srebrenica school allegedly threatens students over Bosnia jerseys: Report

A view of the cemetery in Srebrenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina on July 10, 2026. 21-year-old Esmir Bajraktarevic, one of the rising stars of Bosnia and Herzegovina's football, has drawn attention not only for his career but also for his connection to his hometown of Srebrenica, where he lost many family members in the genocide in July 1995. (AA Photo)
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A view of the cemetery in Srebrenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina on July 10, 2026. 21-year-old Esmir Bajraktarevic, one of the rising stars of Bosnia and Herzegovina's football, has drawn attention not only for his career but also for his connection to his hometown of Srebrenica, where he lost many family members in the genocide in July 1995. (AA Photo)
October 01, 2026 12:31 PM GMT+03:00

A school in Srebrenica allegedly threatened students with penalties for wearing Bosnia and Herzegovina national football team jerseys, Bosnian daily Dnevni Avaz reported Wednesday.

JU Secondary Center Srebrenica reportedly described Bosnia and Herzegovina national team jerseys as offensive, while students were warned they could face sanctions, including a lower conduct grade, according to parents cited by the report.

Sanja Mocevic, director of the Srebrenica High School Center in Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Republika Srpska entity, reportedly told students not to come to school wearing the national team jerseys in the future.

Murat Tahirovic, president of the Association of Victims and Witnesses of Genocide, responded to the case and called for clarification.

“If it is true that the student of the Srebrenica High School Center was reprimanded because she came to school in the jersey of the football team of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and that the students were then threatened with sanctions for wearing such a jersey, then this is a procedure that is deeply worrying and unacceptable,” Tahirovic said.

President of Association of Victims and Witnesses of Genocide Murat Tahirovic (R) and President of the Mothers of Srebrenica Association Munira Subasic (L) attend a press conference in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina on March 23, 2017. (AA Photo)
President of Association of Victims and Witnesses of Genocide Murat Tahirovic (R) and President of the Mothers of Srebrenica Association Munira Subasic (L) attend a press conference in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina on March 23, 2017. (AA Photo)

Call for investigation

Tahirovic requested a public explanation of the regulations under which the national team jersey was deemed unacceptable.

He also called on education authorities in Republika Srpska and Bosnia and Herzegovina to urgently investigate the case and protect students from discrimination and humiliation.

“Srebrenica is a place of genocide, but it must not be a place where children are taught that Bosnia and Herzegovina is undesirable,” Tahirovic said.

In July 1995, Bosnian Serb forces overran the U.N.-declared safe area of Srebrenica and systematically killed 8,372 Bosniak men and boys in what international courts, including the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, have recognized as genocide.

October 01, 2026 12:31 PM GMT+03:00
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