Visits Also Expected: Arrested Police Officers Allowed Contact with Family

(Patria) - The Court has finally allowed police officers arrested in the "DAR 1" operation to contact their families, after the defense attorneys' appeal was accepted.
Defense attorney Lejla Čović told Patria that the suspects have been allowed to communicate with their closest family members after the appeals. These include their spouses, children, and parents.
We remind you that, as Patria reported, they were also prohibited from communicating with third parties, including family members and attorneys. 

There is also a ruling by the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the case of Amir Zukić regarding the violation of these human rights, when the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina determined a violation of the right to family life under Article II/3.f) of the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.

At that time, the Constitutional Court overturned the Decision of the Municipal Court in Sarajevo, Case No. 65 0 K 595527 17 Kv 13 of March 17, 2017, and the Decision of the Municipal Court in Sarajevo, Case No. 65 0 K 595527 16 Kpp of March 9, 2017, in the part relating to family visits (spouses and children) to the appellant during the period of detention.

Furthermore, by the same decision, the appellant was prohibited from using the telephone in the detention unit of the Penal-Correctional Institution Zenica during the period of detention under Article 146, Paragraph 1, Point b) of the Law on Execution of Criminal Sanctions of FBiH, or until another court decision. Paragraph III of the same decision explicitly stated, Case Number: AP-1332/17 15 Decision on Admissibility and Merits, that "these prohibitions (...) do not apply to contact with defense attorneys, and the detainee has the right to free and unimpeded communication with defense attorneys".

Otherwise, families were also prevented from visiting due to the epidemiological situation, so the question is openly raised why this approach is being taken towards the police officers. Goran Čerkez, Assistant Minister of Health of FBiH, recently spoke about this absurdity, stating that it is necessary for penal-correctional institutions to provide conditions for visits, and that the Crisis Staff has not banned visits to prisoners or detainees.