Brčko Judiciary in the Service of Criminals: Prosecuting Bosniaks for a Slap, While Ignoring Proven Crimes

In Brčko, according to official data, 496 Bosniak and Croat civilians were killed. They were liquidated by the Army of Republika Srpska in numerous horrific Brčko camps. Foreign journalists also wrote about these camps, disgusted by the brutal murders and torture of civilians, writes the Patria news agency. 

Few could describe the inhuman beatings to death in the horrific Luka camp, in room number 13 of the Brčko SUP, in the Posavina hotel, Laser, Partizan sports hall, the wooden mosque...     

But when the war ended, when normal life was expected in Brčko, which would include the punishment of the most serious war crimes first, the persecution of Bosniak defenders began. It seems incredible, but several fighters were tried and sentenced to long prison terms for slapping captured Serb soldiers.

For example, Mensur Peljto, a well-known boxer, was tried because he allegedly slapped someone captured, and then Galib Hadžić, a police inspector, received two and a half years in prison for another slap.

Terrible Judicial Injustices 

At the same time, the story of the Brčko judiciary is almost shameful, confirmed by lenient sentences for serious war criminals, and even acquittals for proven war criminals, as happened in the case of Branko Pudić.

It seems incredible, but in the verdict of the Hague Tribunal against mass murderer Goran Jelisic Adolf (It.95 -10/1PT), Branko Pudić is listed as Jelisic's accomplice and assistant in the murder of at least two detained civilians.

Surprisingly, in the proceedings against Pudić, the Brčko District Prosecutor's Office does not mention this in the case file, which is a complete disrespect and denial of the verdicts of the International Tribunal in The Hague. Similarly, Monika Karan Ilić was acquitted of complicity and assistance in the crimes committed by Goran Jelisic Adolf, even though her guilt was confirmed by the same Tribunal verdict (It.95-10/1PT). This is just a fraction of the horror and illegality of the Brčko judiciary.      

Bosniak Cadres in Judicial Constructions

Bosniaks and Croats from Brčko have complained extensively, warning that Bosniak cadres within the Brčko judiciary are participating in all these constructions of guilt and the covering up of serious crimes, primarily Zekerijah Mujkanović, the Chief Prosecutor of the Brčko District Prosecutor's Office, who has not been doing his job properly and according to the law for years.

Unfortunately, a person who could have controlled these incredible illegal actions, as a member of the HJPC, appointed by the Brčko judiciary, Zijad Kadrić, did nothing about these issues. Why? Is it possible that no complaints from affected Brčko residents were sent to him? Or is silence golden for him too?

Representatives of the international community, who uphold law and justice here, and in whom the people still place their only hope, have not recognized the injustices and tragedies occurring in the Brčko judiciary.

It has long been known that some Serb cadres in the Brčko judiciary are biased, and due to such cadres, political and selective prosecution, as well as the punishment of the guilty and innocent, is evident.

One of the shocking cadres of such a judiciary is the President of the Brčko Court of Appeals, Damjan Kaurinović, a former captain of the Army of Republika Srpska, and then a judge who convicted prisoners from the infamous Batković camp near Bijeljina. Such a person heads the Court of Appeals, to which those sentenced to many years in prison for a slap or two are supposed to appeal.

The Brčko judiciary is one of the greatest tragedies of post-Dayton Bosnia and Herzegovina.

(In the next installment: How the leaders of the Brčko judiciary tried camp inmates in infamous camps and who among them are decorated officers of the Army of Republika Srpska)