Tax money "burned"

Detention wing in Lipa to be demolished

Austria financed the construction of the camp with 1.1 million euros, the EU Commission with 500,000 euros.(Bild: AFP )

The planned detention wing in the Bosnian refugee camp Lipa, co-financed by Austria and the EU, is to be demolished. Austria financed the construction of the camp with 1.1 million euros, the EU Commission with 500,000 euros.

The illegally constructed and already empty building will soon be history, explained Petar Rosandić, chairman of the NGO "SOS Balkanroute" in Vienna on Friday.

Together with Bosnian Human Rights Minister Sevlid Hurtić, he called for an investigation into the use of taxpayers' money, which is now being "burned".

Migrants outside the camp(Bild: AFP )

Austrian "Guantanamo"
Last year, the planned construction of the detention wing for holding violent migrants inside the camp made headlines. "SOS Balkanroute" described the detention facility as an Austrian "Guantanamo" and, together with other non-governmental organizations and Bosnian politicians such as Hurtić, campaigned against its opening. 

Camp Lipa

The controversial refugee camp was set up in 2020, but was closed shortly afterwards due to its desolate condition. With Austrian and international help, the camp in the inhospitable terrain 25 kilometers southeast of Bihać in the Bosnian canton of Una-Sana was rebuilt and renovated.

The Vienna-based International Center for Migration Policy (ICMPD), which helped set up the camp, filed a lawsuit against "SOS Balkanroute" because of the word "Guantanamo". However, this was dismissed by the Vienna Commercial Court in summer 2023.