Controversy Surrounds Domagoj Margetić's Book Promotion in Sarajevo

Controversy Surrounds Domagoj Margetić’s Book Promotion in Sarajevo pro-government Pro-government coverage portrays Domagoj Margetić as an unreliable figure whose “Pay and Shoot” book is a politicized pamphlet built on lies, half-truths, and a discredited witness, Aleksandar Ličanin. These outlets argue that the Sarajevo promotion and the accusations against Vučić and Bakir Izetbegović are part of a broader hybrid campaign to demonize Serbia’s president, erode trust in state institutions, and damage the country’s international reputation. @Kurir @Republika @Alo! Domagoj Margetić, a Croatian journalist, promoted his book “Pay and Shoot – Secrets of Sarajevo Human Safaris” at the Sarajevo Book Fair, where he repeated his long-standing claims about the so-called “Sarajevo safari” and alleged wartime crimes involving Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić and Bosnian politician Bakir Izetbegović. At the event in Sarajevo, Margetić publicly accused Bakir Izetbegović of ordering the 1996 murder of AID official Nedžad Ugljen, saying Ugljen had uncovered details of the alleged “human safaris” and had confided that an order for his liquidation came from Bakir. The promotion escalated into a heated verbal clash, notably with former Bosnian intelligence officer Edin Subašić, and reports mention that the situation nearly turned physical. Media on both sides acknowledge that Sarajevo outlets and various political and security actors quickly reacted to the claims, that documents and testimonies were circulated to test the veracity of key witness Aleksandar Ličanin, and that the controversy has spread beyond the book fair itself into a broader public and media debate about wartime narratives and contemporary politics.

Across the spectrum, outlets agree that the Bosnian and Serbian political arenas remain deeply marked by unresolved questions about the siege of Sarajevo, the role of intelligence services, and the use of wartime stories in present-day power struggles. Institutions such as the Bosnian intelligence services (successor structures to AID), the Serbian Security Information Agency (BIA), and Sarajevo-based courts and media are all presented as reference points for assessing the credibility of Margetić’s claims and the “Sarajevo safari” narrative. Coverage from both camps situates the scandal within longer-running disputes over how to interpret Yugoslav breakup-era violence, with recurring themes of selective memory, competing victimhood, and the instrumentalization of witnesses who moved between military and intelligence structures during the war. There is also cross-cutting recognition that such episodes can affect regional diplomacy and the international image of Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, especially when sitting or former top officials like Vučić and Bakir Izetbegović are directly implicated.

Areas of disagreement

Credibility of Margetić and witnesses. Opposition-aligned sources tend to treat Margetić as an investigative journalist whose wartime claims merit scrutiny and may expose uncomfortable truths about regional elites, while pro-government outlets depict him as a discredited provocateur, labeling his book a political pamphlet built on fabrications. Pro-government reporting emphasizes documents and counter-testimony aimed at dismantling the credibility of key witness Aleksandar Ličanin and, by extension, the entire “Sarajevo safari” story. Opposition coverage, where it exists, is more inclined to question official rebuttals and highlight past instances where whistleblowers were similarly attacked, portraying the controversy as part of a pattern of power structures trying to silence inconvenient narratives.

Nature and purpose of the book. Opposition sources frame the book as an attempt to document alleged wartime atrocities and expose a clandestine system of “human safaris” in besieged Sarajevo, with its political implications treated as a secondary but inevitable consequence of uncovering crimes. Pro-government media instead characterize the work as sensationalist fiction, a tendentious text assembled to serve specific political objectives rather than to present verifiable facts. In this view, the book is not a contribution to historical record but a tool for personal gain and foreign-influenced agendas aimed at destabilizing current institutions.

Political motives and targets. Opposition narratives emphasize that any involvement of figures like Vučić or Bakir Izetbegović in past crimes, if proven, would demonstrate systemic impunity and the continuity of wartime structures into present-day governance, making the book a vehicle for accountability. Pro-government outlets, especially in Serbia, counter that the primary target is the Serbian presidency and state, arguing that Margetić’s accusations are part of a broader hybrid campaign to delegitimize Vučić, undermine trust in Serbian institutions, and harm the country’s international standing. They also portray the accusations against Bakir as opportunistic extensions of the same strategy, designed to inflame regional tensions rather than to seek justice.

Role of media and institutions. Opposition-aligned media, when covering such scandals, tend to cast mainstream institutions and security agencies as conflicted or complicit, suggesting that only independent journalism and cross-border investigative work can break through entrenched secrecy. Pro-government reporting instead foregrounds statements from officials, intelligence professionals, and selected Sarajevo media as proof that institutions are responsibly debunking lies and protecting the public from manipulation. This leads opposition outlets to see the reaction as an attempt to close ranks around political elites, while pro-government outlets present it as a necessary defense of truth and state stability.

In summary, opposition coverage tends to view the Sarajevo book-promotion scandal as a potentially important challenge to entrenched wartime elites and a test of whether uncomfortable allegations can be investigated independently of current power structures, while pro-government coverage tends to depict Domagoj Margetić and his “Sarajevo safari” claims as a discredited, politically motivated attack on Serbia’s leadership and regional stability.

Story coverage