Burzić on the Memić Case: We Strayed into a Murder Qualification and Returned to a Traffic Accident

The Sarajevo Canton Prosecutor's Office, led by Chief Prosecutor Dalida Burzić, held a press conference today where it discussed ongoing cases handled by this Prosecutor's Office, as well as the case of Dženan Memić, writes the Bosnian news agency Patria.

Burzić stated that the Sarajevo Canton Prosecutor's Office was the first to signal that something was wrong in this case, and that they opened a case to determine whether there are elements of criminal liability for officials.

- We have been working on this case since May 2016. The ad hoc body did not submit anything new to this Prosecutor's Office. 90% of those things we already have in our file – said Burzić, adding that the ad hoc body formed by the Security Commission of the Sarajevo Canton Assembly was not authorized to conduct an investigation into omissions, but rather into the conduct of police officers.

The Chief Prosecutor confirmed that she sent a letter to Muriz Memić informing him of his son's murder.

- This Prosecutor's Office conducted an investigation against an unknown perpetrator, and it turned out to be a different legal qualification. The investigation was opened based on two pieces of evidence that pointed to that suspicion. What happened during that investigation and what the Prosecutor's Office undertook and observed in that investigation resulted in us going down the wrong path. I claim that we strayed into that qualification and returned to a traffic accident – said Burzić.

Asked why no Roma were questioned until May, Burzić said they were on the run and that they had been looking for them for three months.

Asked whether she told Dženan Memić's father: „He did not want to kill him, it was a shoving match that escalated,“ Burzić did not want to give a precise answer.

- I am the chief prosecutor and I cannot engage in denials of that claim. I believe I am not obliged to answer those questions from the position I hold and I cannot conduct such conversations.

She also said that this Prosecutor's Office checked everything that was published, but that no omissions by prosecutors were found, which was also confirmed by the Federal Prosecutor's Office.

Burzić had a special message for the media, urging them to be objective.

- Be objective and do not mislead people in a way that extra-institutional behavior becomes commonplace tomorrow. I call on you to be journalists, and I have noticed that the evidence presented by the Prosecutor's Office at the main trial is absolutely not cited. It cannot be presented from one angle and one perspective. When evidence from the indictment that confirms the indictment is presented, I do not see it in any newspaper – said Burzić.

Responding to numerous questions regarding this case, Burzić said that the report of the ad hoc body has no impact on the work and evidence presented in court.

The Chief Prosecutor said that she felt political pressure and that it was personalized in one person, only her.

- When I felt pressure, I said so, and when I have evidence, perhaps I will publicly say who it is. But that politics has started to interfere with this prosecutor's office is clear. We belong to no one – said Burzić.

Speaking about the injuries Dženan Memić sustained, Burzić said that the expert witness will discuss them at the main trial.

- The expert witness could not comment on the manner of injury to the victim. Apart from the autopsy, there is also medical documentation when Memić was admitted to KCUS. When the expert witness's findings are presented, we will hear what injuries he had – said Burzić.