Activists of the "Justice for David" group pointed out all the omissions in the work of the Prosecutor's Office

BANJA LUKA, (Patria) - The work of the District Public Prosecutor's Office in Banja Luka in the case of David Dragičević's death was the topic of today's press conference organized by the "Justice for David" group.

"For 300 days, this group, along with the family of the deceased young man, has been fighting to find and punish his killers," they said at the beginning of their address, reports N1.

As stated by group representatives Ozren Perduv and Dragan Dabić, this community persists despite increasingly difficult and brutal attacks, and the fact that Davor Dragičević is currently unable to act freely obliges them to persevere in their fight for truth and justice. Group members reminded the public of numerous omissions in the investigation, starting from March 24, when David Dragičević's body was found in the Vrbas riverbed after six days of searching.

"After the discovery of the lifeless body, the duty prosecutor and the coroner were among those who arrived at the scene. The coroner determined at the time that the body had not been in the water for more than 36 hours and, most importantly, he examined all the pockets of the deceased and stated that there was no mobile phone or other items in them, which later appeared on the autopsy table. That coroner's report disappeared, and we have reason to suspect that someone intentionally removed it because it does not fit the official scenario presented by individuals from the institutions," stated "Justice for David", asking the Prosecutor's Office who is responsible for this omission and what has been done about it.

After the body was found, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Republika Srpska, and then the Minister of Internal Affairs of Republika Srpska, announced that the death was due to drowning and that "there are no indications whatsoever that it was a murder".

"Another example of interference in the investigation is the call from the then President of Republika Srpska, Milorad Dodik, to the Minister of Police, to 'conduct an additional expert examination of the death'! Is he authorized to direct the investigation? And what right does the police have to carry out the orders of the President of the Republic regarding investigative actions? If the prosecutor had done his job, the investigation would not have been conducted by the police, but by him, with a team of the best prosecutors. If he had done his job, he would have publicly reacted to the statement of the Minister of Police about the cause of David Dragičević's death and told him that, according to the law, the prosecutor, not the minister, makes decisions on the results of the investigation. He also had to publicly react to the interference of the President of the Republic in the investigation," believes the "Justice for David" group.

The autopsy of David's body was performed on March 25, at the request of the duty prosecutor. We remind you that an autopsy is performed exclusively by order of the Prosecutor's Office, and the findings are submitted exclusively to this institution. However, the day after the autopsy, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Republika Srpska organized a press conference, attended by the pathologist for the first time in his career, they stated.

"At that time, and without the Prosecutor's Office's approval, he revealed details from the autopsy report to the public. The conference was held without the presence of the only person authorized to comment on the case and qualify the act, which is the prosecutor. The case was almost closed that day. David was declared a burglar and his death was characterized as an accident. According to them, everything was clear and everything was determined. We are publicly asking the Prosecutor's Office - what did you do regarding the holding of such a, we can freely say, scandalous press conference?" ask the group members.

"Autopsy and re-autopsy reports claimed that David was under the influence of LSD and marijuana. Under public pressure and due to the persistence of David's parents, it later turned out that the report was falsified, and that the Institute of Forensic Medicine of Republika Srpska does not even have the necessary equipment for these types of analyses. As for the alleged break-in into the Rađen family's house, for which he was accused by the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Republika Srpska, it is enough to say that no investigation was conducted, and David's DNA was not found on the items seized from that house," stated the "Justice for David" group.

"We reasonably conclude that someone was interested in criminalizing the victim David Dragičević. A question for the Prosecutor's Office - what did you do regarding the aforementioned? We know that an indictment was filed against the pathologist who performed the autopsy, but later the republican Prosecutor's Office suspended the investigation. That's where everything ended," stated Perduv and Dabić.

Among the omissions in the investigation is the loss of David's underwear, for which an indictment was filed against two forensic technicians.

"According to the confession of the forensic technicians who deposited David's belongings, they consciously threw away the underwear. Considering the evidentiary value of underwear, we reasonably suspect that this was not a result of negligence, but a deliberate act. The Prosecutor's Office did file an indictment against two forensic technicians, but only after six months, under public pressure and the persistence of David's parents," they point out.

In conclusion, the "Justice for David" group hopes that as a society, we will succeed in fighting for the freedoms of citizens, which are guaranteed by the constitution, as well as for the resolution of David Dragičević's murder, thus bringing peace of mind to this family, but also returning the institutions to their constitutional and legal frameworks.

"Justice and truth have no alternative for a free society for all of us," they state.