Lawyers Reveal: New Irregularities in the Džermin Pašić Case

(Patria) - The investigation in the BiH Prosecutor's Office case against suspect Elmedin Karišik, which has been conducted for a long time by BiH Prosecutor Džermin Pašić, shows serious irregularities in conduct, evidence manipulation, and non-compliance with mandatory deadlines for its conclusion.

This was revealed to the Patria News Agency (NAP) by the defenders of suspect Karišik - Nina Kisić, Senad Kreho, and Damir Beglerović, after the BiH Prosecutor's Office formed a criminal case against Pašić for hiding notes stating that he had accepted a bribe.

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BiH Prosecutor's Office opened a criminal case against prosecutor Džermin Pašić

(Patria) - The BiH Prosecutor's Office has formed a criminal case against state prosecutor Džermin Pašić, Avdo Avdić announced on the show Istraga sedmice. Pašić has also been reported to the Disciplinary Prosecutor's Office due to suspicions of abuse. Earlier, it was revealed

The latest information from case number T20 0 KTOV 0023369 25 indicates a series of procedural omissions that call into question the integrity of the procedure itself, as well as the security of the evidence within state institutions, confirming that Elmedin Karišik's legal situation is anything but in accordance with the Criminal Procedure Code of BiH, state Karišik's lawyers.

Phone Turned On and Unknown Battery

One of the most concerning details, they add, was recorded on June 14, 2023. During the official opening of temporarily seized items, specifically a brown paper bag marked as evidence number 6, it was determined that the condition of the evidence did not match that in the Records.

Namely, an iPhone mobile phone, which was previously temporarily seized and sealed in a brown bag, was found outside the sealed bag, turned on with a fully charged battery.

This is simply impossible, the lawyers warn, because the phone was seized on May 9, 2023, and the opening of the temporarily seized items was carried out after 36 days, i.e., on June 14, 2023, which is evident from the Record of Opening and Inspection of Temporarily Seized Items and BiH Prosecutor's Office Documentation number T20 0 KTO 0023369 22 dated June 14, 2023.

Further suspicion is raised by the fact that the phone screen displayed a notification about a password change, which directly implies that someone, knowingly violating the Criminal Procedure Code, had unauthorized access to the mobile device after its seizure and took unknown actions with the same device, all while the mobile phone in question was in the office of prosecutor Džermin Pašić, who thus contaminated all temporarily seized items and jeopardized their chain of custody.

Another unexplained detail, the lawyers say, is the discovery of an external battery connected to the disputed phone. According to the record of temporary seizure of items, the battery was not seized from suspect Elmedin Karišik, nor was it recorded in any search record, nor does it belong to that phone model.

Karišik's defense therefore rightfully asks: who, with what purpose, and on whose orders illegally manipulated evidence within the premises of the BiH Prosecutor's Office institution?

Disqualification of Prosecutor and Role of SIPA Inspectors

The initial prosecutor Džermin Pašić was disqualified from the case by the Chief Prosecutor at the request of the suspect's defense, for reasons prescribed by Article 29, paragraph f) of the BiH CPC, after he found himself as the injured party in the case of obstruction of justice, as well as other criminal offenses committed against lawyer Mirsad Crnovršanin.

However, despite the disqualification of prosecutor Pašić, Almir Mustajbašić, an authorized official of SIPA, continued to work on the case. Mustajbašić, who is considered a close associate of the dismissed prosecutor, remained in the investigation even though the criminal offense of obstruction of justice, for which proceedings are underway, also concerns him as the alleged injured party.

In addition to Almir Mustajbašić, a collaborator of prosecutor Džermin Pašić, who is also considered a close person to him - Mersudin Omerhodžić - also continued to work on the case and take official actions.

Mersudin Omerhodžić is a co-signatory of official notes number T20 0 KTO 0023369 22 dated January 29, 2025, and official notes number T20 0 KTO 0023369 22 dated June 24, 2025, which are the subject of the disciplinary and criminal charges filed against Džermin Pašić by Chief Prosecutor Milanko Kajganić.

The defense believes that the objectivity of the investigation is jeopardized by the continued involvement of prosecutor Džermin Pašić's collaborators, and that they should have recused themselves from performing any official action in this case.

Ignoring the Chief Prosecutor's Order

In addition to the suspicion of evidence contamination, lawyers emphasize that the Prosecutor's Office is now also facing the problem of exceeding the legal deadlines set by the BiH Criminal Procedure Code.

The Chief Prosecutor of the BiH Prosecutor's Office, Milanko Kajganić, acting on the decisive provisions of Article 225 of the BiH CPC, and upon the complaint of the suspect's defense, issued the Decision to Conclude the Investigation number A-119-6/24 dated November 22, 2024, ordering the prosecutor in charge to conclude the investigation in this case within one year, and no later than November 6, 2025. That deadline expired a month ago.

The new prosecutors in charge, Sanja Ljuboje Romić and Sanita Imamović, who took over Džermin Pašić's cases, have not yet made a prosecutorial decision - neither an indictment has been filed, nor a decision to dismiss the investigation has been made. Such conduct is a direct violation of the provisions of the BiH Criminal Procedure Code, as well as the decision of the Chief Prosecutor.

Due to the aforementioned, and acting solely on the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Code and in accordance with the Chief Prosecutor's decision, Elmedin Karišik's defense filed a formal request for the dismissal of the investigation to the Chief Prosecutor on November 7, 2025.

As of the publication of this text, no response has been received from the BiH Prosecutor's Office, and the legal fate of this case remains uncertain because the Prosecutor's Office was obliged to issue an Order to Dismiss the Investigation on November 7, 2025, in accordance with the provisions of Article 225, Paragraph 5 of the Criminal Procedure Code, given that the legal deadline for filing an indictment has expired.

It remains to be seen whether the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council (HJPC) of BiH will react to the allegations of evidence manipulation and non-compliance with the decisive provisions of the Criminal Procedure Code, and prosecutorial decisions within the umbrella judicial institution of the country, lawyers state.