Escape and death of detainees in 25 days: Softić dismissed, guards accuse him of negligence!

At the beginning of September, detainee Amel Sejfović escaped from the Sarajevo Penal Correctional Institution at gunpoint, and on the night between Wednesday and Thursday, detainee S.D. committed suicide by hanging, reports the Patria agency.

Amer Softić was the head of the Sarajevo PCI and was dismissed today. However, it is certain that Softić could also be the subject of an investigation into the events at the Sarajevo PCI and the failures for which he was responsible as the responsible person.

Softić told FTV that there is collusion between prison guards and detainees/prisoners in the Sarajevo prison. He did not talk about his role in all of this. According to him, let the investigative bodies deal with it. Then Softić would also have to be one of those whose role must be clarified. It is also interesting that the video of Sejfović's escape was published days after the event itself. The chronology of the event itself is not the clearest in the displayed video, given that it does not include the part when Sejfović went to the prison infirmary with a guard.

It is known that the Sarajevo PCI has a shortage of prison guards. In response to the serious accusations of the now former director and the published report on FTV about Sejfović's escape, one of the employees of the Sarajevo prison publicly reacted. The shocking data presented by guard E.S. show that there are numerous omissions in this institution. The guard states that only 5 unarmed guards are assigned to 170 prisoners on duty.

- We have to be "nice" to them so that our shift passes without problems, to laugh with them when something isn't funny, to nod our heads when they say something - states E.S.

He claims that everything seen in the published video is a daily occurrence for the past two years, since director Amer Softić took office. He was appointed in November 2015 for a period of four years. However, after all the public and secret scandals, Softić was dismissed today.

- No one asks why we are short of 40 guards so that we can function at least somehow. This is anything but a prison, we have to work like this because the five of us on duty are not capable of solving any slightly bigger problem, which is pathetic and sad. We talk about some kind of democracy, so here you go, welcome, I'm ashamed.

This prison guard also reveals that on the day Sejfović escaped, director Softić made a mistake and did not place a guard at the gate through which Sejfović exited.

- On all other days, it is mandatory for an armed guard to be present. Softić has never held a meeting with the guards in two years. He cannot declare a state of emergency. Guards have 50 hours of overtime that are not paid. He only fights to punish the guards, he deals with the consequence, not the cause of the problem - states this guard, categorically rejecting the accusations of the former director.

This case has only exposed part of the problems that have been ongoing in the Sarajevo PCI for a long time. Responsibility also lies with the prison management, as well as with the Ministry of Justice of the FBiH, which is responsible for hiring prison guards. Instead of collusion between guards and prisoners, it is actually a collusion of politics, ignorance, and corruption in the chain of responsibility.

It should not be forgotten that Amer Softić's name is also mentioned in the indictment in the Bosna case when he agreed to meet with Amir Zukić, the Secretary General of SDA, who asked him to convey a certain message to Esed Džananović. Only two days later, Zukić and his driver Seid Fazlagić were arrested. Softić's role in this case has never been fully clarified. It is not excluded that he himself may appear in the courtroom during the proceedings.

Due to Sejfović's escape, two prison guards and a medical technician were arrested, who are charged with the criminal offenses of facilitating the escape of a person deprived of liberty and unlawful release of a person deprived of liberty. They were ordered one month of detention, which expires on October 4.

As Patria learns unofficially, they also underwent a polygraph test, which they passed. The investigation in this case is still ongoing, and Sejfović's accomplice who was waiting for him on a motorcycle after the escape has not yet been found. It is interesting that on that day, some employees swapped shifts with other colleagues due to the holiday. Whether all of this is part of a well-thought-out plan and what preceded Sejfović's escape will be shown by the evidence being collected by the KS Prosecutor's Office.

It is certain that this case has revealed only a small part of the reality that prevails in the prison system.

Faruk Zubčević will perform the duties of the director of the Sarajevo PCI, and his deputy is Mladen Krpan. After everything that has happened in the past period, the new management faces a general cleanup and a fight for necessary personnel in order to reduce such cases to a minimum.