The brutal murder of prominent local businessman Slavisa Krunic has shaken many in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Shock is not easily triggered in Bosnia, given the country’s long fractious politics, endemic corruption and Byzantine constitutional and administrative divisions. But there are still a handful of red lines left, one of which appears to have been crossed with Krunic’s killing in Bosnia’s Serb governed Republika Srpska, RS, entity where he lived.

While half a dozen suspects were already in custody the morning after the killing, including two who were arrested in Bosnia’s other entity, the mainly Bosniak-Croat administered Federation, the motive behind the killing remains unclear.

That, however, has not stopped Bosnians in both entities from drawing their own conclusions. And it is the popular narrative that has emerged – whether ultimately true or not – that speaks to the disturbing realities of contemporary Bosnian politics and what is at stake in their conduct.

The story is simple: Slavisa Krunic was a successful and outspoken entrepreneur, a fearless critic of Bosnian Serb strongman Milorad Dodik and his ruling Alliance of Independent Social Democrats, SNSD, and an ethnic Serb who saw no qualms about also identifying himself as a Bosnian.

His heterodoxy won him accolades among many in both Banja Luka, the administrative centre of RS, and the Bosnian capital Sarajevo – but it ultimately cost him his life.

In short, the authorities have their “signature” all over the death of Krunic, as Bosnia’s Security Minister Dragan Mektic alleged. Or so the story goes.

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