It's a Sin Because He Called Dodik: Salihović to be Removed, and Božo Mihajlović Appointed Temporarily!?

Are we witnessing unprincipled actions that undermine justice in this country. A system of rule of law needs to be established in this country, not justice by guesswork. It is obvious that BiH needs political tact in many aspects, but that must not include the judiciary, writes the Patria News Agency.

“Let there be justice, though the world perish” (Fiat justitia et perat mundus), says the Latin proverb.

The Office of the Disciplinary Prosecutor of the HJPC, headed by Milan Tegeltija, a man trusted by Milorad Dodik, reacted swiftly against Goran Salihović with a disciplinary complaint.

"They want to suspend me because of Milorad Dodik," said state prosecutor Goran Salihović.

"I reject all these allegations and nothing in this complaint is true, it is all fabricated. The reason for the complaint is that I opened an investigation against Milorad Dodik and that for the first time in history he received a summons to appear at the BiH Prosecutor's Office."

"He clearly stated yesterday that he stands behind the referendum. It couldn't have happened before, the case was opened 20 days ago and we are working on it," Salihović explained.

Chief Prosecutor Salihović denies that he, as chief prosecutor, obstructed certain investigations against high-ranking officials, especially those from Republika Srpska.

"I have never obstructed anything. In the Bobar Bank case, an indictment will be filed on Wednesday; we were waiting for certain data from Croatia through the institute of international legal assistance. As for Pavlović Bank, we are also waiting for that because we have five international requests, from the USA to Serbia. We are waiting for the answers to come so that we can continue working," said Salihović.

Whatever it is, this reveals how much our prosecutor's office and judiciary are under the influence of politics. There is no longer any doubt about that. Salihović had complained before that the State Prosecutor's Office was working under political pressure.

However, since the complaint against him came from the HJPC, i.e., from people professionally connected to the judiciary, it seems that politics has long since uglily politicized the judiciary.

First, it forced its way into the system, then it took control of it. Now, unfortunately, it is playing by the rules of political power brokers and dancing to the tune of justice. Even those who care about an independent judiciary admit today that knowledge and professionalism must be preserved at all costs. Namely, no country can move forward, not even BiH, without truly independent judicial professionals.

Many of them were appointed with the help of politics. Only if we free these people from political strongmen can we talk about an independent judiciary.    

It is even unbelievable to think that all this is not orchestrated. There is no politician in Bosnia and Herzegovina, no constitutional law expert, who has not called for the judiciary to react in recent days. They all unanimously stated: "The BiH Prosecutor's Office and SIPA are next!"

The international community has also clearly appealed that domestic prosecutor's offices and courts are responsible for unconstitutional acts occurring in our country. It is now crystal clear how positions, even in the judiciary, are divided and how the suitable ones are installed, and that is precisely Milan Tegeltija, the head of the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council.

It is clear why the "onslaught" against Salihović is starting from Dodik's RTRS, but the silence of the local representatives of the political scene, legal experts, and media who pressured the prosecutor to work according to the law, and now they are nowhere to be found, is unclear.

They seem to be calmly waiting for the dismissal of Salihović, a man accused of being directly responsible for prosecuting Dodik and others who conceived and ultimately carried out the unconstitutional referendum. There are also others who claim that everything is being politically played out, and they identify Salihović as the main culprit.

This stance also confuses representatives of the international community, who, according to some sources from Brussels, by their inaction on concrete steps regarding the referendum, have put the judiciary in BiH to the test.

They wanted to strengthen and encourage concrete action and stronger engagement. They gave them wings, but BiH politics clipped them in an instant, allowing Tegeltija, with thunderous applause, to do as he pleased, or rather, as Dodik wished.

The State Department also sent a clear message: "The US condemns this illegal referendum and will support institutions when it comes to responding to the organization of the referendum and obstruction of the implementation of the Dayton Peace Agreement."

It is no coincidence that within a few hours, Salihović summons Dodik for questioning, and then Dodik's man Tegeltija resorts to a disciplinary complaint against Salihović, leaving room for speculation.

Unofficial information suggests that the plan to remove Salihović was made long ago, and they were just waiting for him to summon Dodik for questioning, so that the Office of the Disciplinary Prosecutor of the HJPC would swiftly file a complaint, request a suspension, and convene a session. All within 24 hours.

So that the BiH Prosecutor's Office is not decapitated, it is reportedly already prepared for prosecutor Božo Mihajlović to be appointed as acting prosecutor in Salihović's place.

Too many coincidences for the "Goran Salihović" case to be a coincidence.