One-month detention ordered for members of Panter

(Patria) - At the proposal of the acting prosecutors, the Municipal Court in Sarajevo ordered a one-month detention for Ahmed Džinović (who is serving a prison sentence in Bihać), Semir Sultanović, and Haris Berhamović, who is unavailable to the prosecuting authorities, members of the Panter group.

The detention may last until October 15 or until another court decision, while Sultanović's detention was ordered until October 13 or until another court decision.

"Detention for Džinović and Sultanović was ordered due to the risk of influencing witnesses, concealing evidence, and the risk of repeating the criminal offense, while Berhanović's detention was ordered due to the risk of flight," the Sarajevo Canton Prosecutor's Office announced.

This morning, a hearing was held at the Municipal Court where the prosecutors presented the proposal and details of the investigation that has been ongoing for almost a year.

The Sarajevo Canton Prosecutor's Office requested that a one-month detention be ordered for the mentioned suspects due to the risk of flight and influence on witnesses.

The acting prosecutor reminded that the activities of this group began in Ključ, i.e., the Una-Sana Canton, and were later expanded to the Herzegovina-Neretva Canton and Sarajevo Canton.

The Sarajevo Canton Prosecutor's Office states that Džinović, as the organizer, determined when and where the actions they are charged with would be carried out. Orders were created on social networks, the acting prosecutor states, where identified and unidentified persons present themselves as minors. A witness in this case, also a member of the group, as the prosecutor's office states, recounted how Džinović demanded money so he could buy out the sentence he is serving.

In addition, the prosecutors note that the work of police and judicial institutions must not be questioned, nor should evidence be concealed, as they claim is being presented in the public sphere. They also point out that some members have been convicted multiple times, Semir Sultanović as many as 12 times. The prosecutors also warned about, as they state, the "altruistic image" that this association has in the public. All these individuals are, they emphasize, unemployed, except for one who attended the hearing yesterday, and they charged their members membership fees.

Once again, the prosecutor's office reiterated that no recording or message has been found that would incriminate acts of pedophilia that the members of "Panter" refer to.

They once again called on the suspects to hand them over to the prosecutor's office, if they have them, in order to protect them.

Džinović's lawyer, Goran Dragović, emphasized that his client wanted to cooperate, that he had reported numerous cases of pedophilia to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Una-Sana Canton Prosecutor's Office on several occasions, but no one responded. He also deemed the detention measures absurd while he is serving his prison sentence.

Džinović himself also addressed the court, stating that he wants to cooperate with the prosecutor's office, that his life is in danger, and that afterwards the story came out that he refuses to cooperate. He also denied being unemployed and taking money for membership fees from group members. He is employed, he says, in a family company.

Berhamović's lawyer, Dženan Zagorac, stated that his client is in Austria, where he lives, and that he does not know what he is being charged with.

Semir Sultanović's lawyer emphasized that the prosecutor's office "favors" some while "burdening" others.

For five other suspects, prohibition measures were requested at yesterday's hearing, and the court's decision is expected today.