Brammertz Again Conditions the BiH Prosecutor's Office, Demands Urgent Decisions on Cases Transferred from The Hague

The chief Hague prosecutor, Serge Brammertz, stated that he expects the BiH Prosecutor's Office to make a decision by the end of the year on all war crimes cases transferred from the Hague Tribunal for further processing.

Brammertz received this promise from Goran Salihović, the chief prosecutor of the BiH Prosecutor's Office, in May this year and expects it to be fulfilled. Otherwise, Brammertz intends to submit a “very, very negative report” to the United Nations (UN) Security Council.

In an interview with the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN), Brammertz explained that his reports have been “quite negative” because he received promises that were not kept, as no progress was made.

- It is difficult to say exactly how many cases remain. Initially, we transferred cases related to 40 individuals. Some cases involve one suspect, others more. Now, progress has been made in some cases, while others have been divided or are stalled - said Brammertz.

Commenting on the statement that the BiH Prosecutor's Office has reached the figure of 500 accused for war crimes, Brammertz said he considers this a “significant success”, but that “numbers are not everything”.

- Numbers say nothing about the quality, seriousness, severity, and criteria used in selecting these cases. One of the criticisms I have personally made, along with many others, is that many complex cases have been fragmented into several less complex ones, and there is a feeling that priority has been given to simpler cases - explained Brammertz.

According to him, it is clear that the deadlines from the National Strategy for the Processing of War Crimes will not be met, and from now on, priority should be placed on complex cases.

- There are disagreements regarding the practice of transferring cases to the entity level. I have heard from several prosecutors that the simplest cases were transferred to them, and only after the indictment was confirmed. These cases are recorded in the BiH Prosecutor's Office's records, even though the entire trial is conducted at the entity level - said Brammertz.

He also emphasized that there is a large number of significant cases that remain unresolved, creating tension in the public around anniversaries, and these should be a priority.

The judiciary in BiH, according to the chief Hague prosecutor, faces problems of lack of capacity, but also a lack of commitment to process cases in accordance with the National Strategy for Work on War Crimes Cases.

- I must say, with due respect to my fellow prosecutors, that I have not always been convinced that they truly want to work seriously on war crimes cases - said Brammertz.

Speaking about the announced referendum in the Republika Srpska (RS) on the Court and Prosecutor's Office of BiH, Brammertz noted that he is aware of the criticisms directed at these institutions, but that their abolition would have a negative impact on the processing of war crimes.

Brammertz also emphasized that it is very positive that legal expert Joanna Corner, who worked in The Hague, will conduct an analysis of the BiH Prosecutor's Office's work on all war crimes cases on behalf of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).

- There are a number of problems – fragmentation of cases, allegations of indictments being of poor or good quality, different views in some cases among prosecutors and judges – and that is why it is very positive for an expert to review this. So, this is not a court to condemn anyone, but a report whose task is to make recommendations and assess the situation - said Brammertz.

Commenting on the processing of war crimes in the region, Brammertz said that, like in BiH, in Serbia and Croatia there is “little appetite for raising indictments against higher-ranking individuals” who are more influential in communities.

He called on the Serbian authorities, after the departure of Vladimir Vukčević, the chief prosecutor for war crimes, to appoint “someone with knowledge, charisma, and experience, who can continue the work on processing more complex cases”, reports the Bosnian news agency Patria.