Čampara approved all of Lukač's illegalities

By Amra Varatanović

The end of the mandate of the director-pensioner of the Federal Police Administration, Dragan Lukač, was marked by cases opened against him by the State Prosecutor's Office and the Sarajevo Cantonal Prosecutor's Office. The State Prosecutor's Office is conducting checks due to possible abuse of position or authority by the director, as in mid-April this year, he refused to forward information received from the Intelligence-Security Agency in the case of the murder of Ramiz Delalić Ćelo, which is being handled by the Prosecutor's Office of BiH.

The Sarajevo Cantonal Prosecutor's Office, on the other hand, is checking how Lukač, despite the Independent Board of the Parliament of FBiH determining that he met the conditions for retirement four years ago and had to be retired by law, regularly received salaries, thereby gaining illegal property benefits and damaging the Federation's budget solely on salary for hundreds of thousands of marks. And that without salary supplements and contributions.

At the same time, the Minister of Internal Affairs, Aljoša Čampara, states that Lukač will remain at the head of the FUP until the end of his mandate, which expires at the end of 2018, and that as long as he is minister, the law will be respected, not the political instructions and desires of certain political leaders.

Čampara claims that the smear campaign against Lukač began in 2014 "after the SPJ prevented the burning of the Presidency of BiH". Unfortunately, we must remind Minister Čampara that the Presidency of BiH building was indeed burned on February 7, 2014, and that it was the FUP that conducted the investigation in that case, for which several people were arrested. Čampara should also know that the Prosecutor's Office of BiH, specifically his brother Dubravko Čampara, was the prosecutor in the cases of the burning of the Presidency of BiH. It is still recounted in Sarajevo that on February 7, 2014, FUP members were deployed in the Poljine settlement, while MUP KS members at Skenderija were the first on the line of defense against violent demonstrators, which numerous journalists and media crews witnessed.

Minister Čampara should also know that he is obliged to respect the law, and that the law should be the same for everyone. Some former FUP employees who ended their service in that police agency in various ways state that Lukač caused immeasurable damage to the FUP during his two mandates. It is now more than clear that the Federal Police Administration is under the control of two men and the Party of Democratic Action.

The arbitrariness and illegalities of the Lukač-Čampara duo are also demonstrated by the case of Deputy Director Ensad Korman, whose mandate expired at the end of June. After a session held in early July, the Independent Board informed the FBiH Government and Minister Čampara about the expiration of the mandate, as well as about the implementation of the competition procedure for the election of the FUP Deputy Director.

The President of the Independent Board, Sead Bardak, confirmed to the Patria agency that they have not received feedback from the FBiH Government regarding Ensad Korman to date. Likewise, the Independent Board did not have the authority to ask the Government to appoint Korman as acting deputy director until the competition procedure was completed. This is exclusively within the jurisdiction of the relevant minister, i.e., the FBiH Government, which has not done so. Instead, Korman was illegally assigned to another position within the Federal Police Administration by an internal decision.

Similarly, the Independent Board considered a series of employee complaints regarding their employment status and ordered Lukač to urgently implement court decisions. The latest court decision was made in the case of Mladen Milosavljević, who won a lawsuit against Lukač, and the FUP director must also pay an additional 1,000 KM.

It is important to point out that since November 2015, the FUP operated without civilian oversight, i.e., without the oversight of the FBiH Parliament, until May 2018, when the new composition was officially confirmed.

The work of the FUP was left to Lukač's discretion. Therefore, from November 2015, the Federal Police Administration was like the private police agency of director Dragan Lukač. Such a position left Lukač room for illegal actions, and Minister Čampara approved everything.

The FUP was used to settle scores with political opponents, adversaries, or those who called for an end to the further collapse of that police agency. SDP BiH MP in the FBiH Parliament, Nermin Nikšić, sought answers to questions about who the FUP is eavesdropping on, whether only SDP BiH members are being investigated, who and how abuses are occurring within the FUP, why police officers are being punished, etc.

It is also indicative that Lukač even publicly announced arrests and charges against individuals, although police work and investigations should be secret.

Lukač's reign in the FUP was marked by a complete internal reorganization, reassignment and degradation of personnel, promotions based on favoritism rather than merit, uncontrolled spending of funds, and numerous complaints filed against him to prosecutor's offices for abuse of position...

Lukač will also be remembered for irregularities in two competitions for cadet recruitment. The one from 2016 was annulled, while the one from 2017 for the recruitment of cadets into the Special Police Unit was marked by scandal and the removal of four successful candidates who were replaced by much lower-ranked candidates but with appropriate national affiliation. Thus, even cadres over 35 years of age entered the SPJ, although they should have been nearing the end of their elite police careers.

Another case that shocked the public, and to which Lukač did not react, was the beating of young Mehmed Mešanović in Bjelašnica in February 2015. He was brutally beaten by FUP inspector Slaviša Mijanović, whom Lukač rewarded with a pistol for special work and contribution just a few months later. Mijanović was sentenced to two years in prison in October 2017, but director Lukač never publicly commented on this. Although the FUP claims that an internal investigation was conducted into this case, the public is not aware of how the investigation concluded. Mijanović worked actively in the service for almost a year after that event without any consequences and received a high salary, while Mešanović suffered permanent health damage.

Only when the Sarajevo Cantonal Prosecutor's Office filed an indictment in January 2016 did Lukač have to suspend Mijanović. The FUP will comment on further actions against inspector Mijanović only after the verdict becomes legally binding. Until then, he will continue to receive a slightly reduced salary regularly.

There is no doubt that there are still honorable people in the FUP who want to do their job honestly and respect the laws of this country. However, for them to come to the fore, it is important that an honorable and honest person comes to the head of the FUP.