During the Bosnian war and the Siege of Sarajevo, the Oslobođenje staff operated out of a makeshift newsroom in a bomb shelter after its 10-story office building had been targeted and reduced to rubble. The war left five staff members dead and 25 wounded. In 1993, it was awarded the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought. The editors of Oslobođenje, Kemal Kurspahić and Gordana Knezević, were named International Editors of the Year for 1993 by the World Press Review for their "bravery, tenacity, and dedication to the principles of journalism." During the war, its staff of Bosniaks, Bosnian Serbs, and Bosnian Croats, managed to print the paper every day except for one.

In 2006, the company was bought up by way of the Sarajevo Stock Exchange by two leading city industries the Sarajevo Tobacco Factory and the Sarajevska Pivara.

Awards and recognitions

• The Paper of the Year in 1989 (Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia)
• The Paper of the Year Award in 1992 (BBC and Granada TV - Great Britain)
• Freedom Award in 1993 (Dagens nyheter-Stockholm and Politiken Copenhagen)
• Oscar Romero Award 1993 (The Rothko Chapel - Houston, Texas)
• Nieman Foundation's Louis M. Lyons Award for conscience and integrity in journalism in 1993 (Harvard University - USA)
• Achievements in Journalism Award in 1993 (Inter Press Service - Rome)
• Andrei Sakharov Award for Human Rights 1993 (European Parliament - Strasbourg, France)