An employee of the EU Delegation in Bosnia and Herzegovina taken into custody and repatriated to Germany

17 April 2020 Nicolas Gros Verheyde

(B2) An official of the EU Delegation in Sarajevo has been repatriated militarily in his home country of Germany. Affected by the coronavirus, he refused to be treated on the spot and had fled the hospital

Camp Butmir where European soldiers reside in Sarajevo (Credit: EUFOR Althea)

The soldiers of the European operation EUFOR Althea present in Bosnia and Herzegovina were called to the rescue on Thursday (16 April) to secure and guard an employee of the EU delegation in Bosnia and Herzegovina who was walking in the nature.

Hospitalized for Covid-19

Affected by Covid-19, this man of German nationality had fled the lung disease clinic of Podhrastovi (in Sarajevo) where he was hospitalized, according to Klix.ba, a local media. Sarajevo police picked him up in the municipality of Stari Grad and waited for the ambulance to take him back to his starting point (1). Point confirmed by the EU Delegation. " We can confirm that our Covid-19 positive employee was under the care of medical personnel in Sarajevo and left the hospital district today. We responded quickly in coordination with the authorities, ensuring that our staff returned to hospital. "According to our Bosnian colleagues, " a real drama is currently unfolding in the isolation ward by Podhrastovi.

Guarded at Camp Butmir

He was therefore 'recovered' and transferred to Camp Butmir on the evening of 16 April. " Iindividual has been received at the gate by medical personnel and military police, the individual remains in isolation, under medical supervision and kept at the camp, until repatriation is arranged » indicated the spokesperson for the operation. And a request for repatriation to his country of origin has been sent. The next day, Friday, he was repatriated to his country on board a medical repatriation plane, which took off from Sarajevo airport at 20 p.m. on Friday, according to the European military.

(NGV)

Apparently, along the way, the man again tried to escape. He managed to open the door and started running. But the police and paramedics caught him and placed him under surveillance.