Stolen Bruce Lee statue ‘returns’ to Bosnia town

Bosnian people celebrate the unveiling of a Bruce Lee statue in the southern Bosnian town of Mostar, 75 km south of Sarajevo, on Saturday, Nov. 26, 2005. (AP Photo/Amel Emric)

SARAJEVO, Bosnia and Herzegovina -- A restored statue honouring late martial arts legend Bruce Lee was returned to its rightful place Wednesday in a Bosnian town, more than a year after it was stolen, local media reported.

The life-size bronze statue of the kung-fu cinema icon in a defensive position holding nun chuck kung-fu sticks was originally unveiled in a park in Mostar in 2005. It has been vandalized several times since.

Lee was chosen as a hero that all ethnic groups could relate to in a town that remains deeply divided after fierce fighting between Bosnian Croats and Bosnian Muslims during the country’s 1990s war.

The statue disappeared from the park in March 2024 but was found a few days later cut into several pieces for sale as scrap metal.

Police soon found the perpetrator who had ripped the statue from its pedestal and he received a 10-month jail sentence earlier this year.

The theft sparked public outrage in the southern town where the statue became an attraction.

On Wednesday, the town’s tourist board head Elvira Cemalovic stressed the importance of the statue for Mostar residents as a symbol of “justice and peace”, N1 regional broadcaster reported.