Grubeša: State prison to start operating on August 1st

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - The BiH state prison located in Istočno Sarajevo will start operating on August 1st this year.

This was confirmed by the BiH Minister of Justice Josip Grubeša, who said that ministers at today's session of the Council of Ministers asked him to present further activities regarding the state prison.

"This is an indicator that BiH is indeed working on the rule of law and strengthening the legal state. With this, we have shown that BiH's path is development and progress, regardless of the fact that it sometimes seems we cannot agree. We face a big challenge in putting the prison into operation; this is the first prison at the BiH level. Until now, we have paid for the accommodation of prisoners in entity prisons," said Grubeša.  

He added that all costs for the accommodation of prisoners in prisons across BiH will now be reduced. 

Grubeša also explained the procedure for electing the prison director. 

"Now that we have the institution, from August 1st, according to the Law on Execution of Criminal Sanctions, the Minister of Justice appoints the warden. In parallel with the appointment of the warden, a public competition must be announced. We know what the law is and what the procedures are in BiH. According to the law, I will appoint an acting director, who will prepare the acts for the functioning of the prison, and by September 15th, he will prepare the systematization. After that, it will take four to five months to complete all procedures, after which we will have the first prisoners," Grubeša stated.