On August 24, 2017, riot police in Bosnia and Herzegovina violently removed peaceful anti-hydropower protesters who were standing up for their right to drinking water and healthy environment, causing serious injury to several people. The two small hydropower plants on the Kruščica river are planned inside an area that is set aside for a protected landscape designation and would divert the water, depriving the residents of the Vitez municipality, and a large part of Zenica, of their drinking water. According to reports, the protestors neither provoked nor resisted the police but were nevertheless forcibly removed in order to allow access over a bridge for construction equipment to pass. After the removal, several of the protestors were arrested and questioned. Several of them also sought medical help. Maida Bilal, co-founder and president of the Eko Bistro citizens’ association, formed in late 2017 to protect the Kruščica River, was also attacked and was struck on the head, while her 70-year-old father was arrested.