COMMENTary Politics Corrupted the Judiciary: An Choice Between Bad and Worse

By Armin Aljović

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The High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council (HJPC) will elect the Chief Prosecutor of the Prosecutor's Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina at today's session. The shortlist includes three candidates: Gordana Tadić, Diana Kajmaković, and Munib Halilović. They will present their programs after which the HJPC members will vote and make a decision on the new prosecutor of the BiH Prosecutor's Office.

Tadić has been the acting Chief Prosecutor of the BiH Prosecutor's Office since September 2016, Kajmaković is a prosecutor at the State Prosecutor's Office, and Halilović is a prosecutor at the Prosecutor's Office of the Federation of BiH.

It seems that whoever is elected Chief State Prosecutor, the citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina will not be too happy. Gordana Tadić and Dijana Kajmaković are associated with several major scandals. Halilović has been more or less out of the public eye in recent years and without major cases.

The media have reported that Dijana Kajmaković has 24-hour protection from members of the Directorate for Coordination of Police Bodies in BiH. The police are monitoring, and the state is paying for the protection of her children. Žurnal published the article “Vip children of state prosecutor Kajmaković: Escorted by police to a New Year's party in Istanbul!“ Therefore, logic dictates that those who are life-threatened do not attend glamorous parties. Kajmaković does not give up that lifestyle, and the pleasures are paid for by the taxpayers of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Kajmaković was the prosecutor in the case against Zijad Turković. This could be the source of the threat to her safety. For comparison, state court judge Senadin Begtašević, who just sentenced Turković to 40 years, does not have police protection and has been seen commuting to work by bus. A video was published somewhat earlier showing Kajmaković planting evidence in the case against the former President of the Federation of BiH, Živko Budimir, but that case was inexplicably hushed up.

In addition to Kajmaković, prosecutor Tadić and her family also have 24-hour protection. Police guard them even when they go on vacation. Prosecutor Oleg Čavka and Dubravko Čampara have the same treatment. It is not known to the public what major scandals they have uncovered and why their lives are threatened to the extent that they require police protection. Denis Džidić from BIRN has listed only six indictments for corruption initiated by the State Prosecutor's Office, three of which are for corruption within the Prosecutor's Office itself.

The phenomenon of police protection for prosecutors has become a kind of prestige. A kind of expensive state glamour.

Prosecutor Tadić is directly connected to the leadership of the HDZ of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Lawyer Duško Tomić said: “If they elect Ms. Tadić, we would have Dragan Čović as the Chief Prosecutor.”

The President of the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council of BiH, Milan Tegeltija, who is electing the Chief State Prosecutor, along with other members of the Council, has been publicly compromised multiple times and has no credibility to hold that position.

“With Milan Tegeltija at the head of the HJPC, a dark period for the judiciary in Bosnia and Herzegovina truly begins,” believes journalist Dženana Karup.

Although nothing positive can happen to the citizens of BiH, the worst thing today would be the election of Gordana Tadić as Chief State Prosecutor. This would legitimize the crime that has been occurring in BiH in recent years before the eyes of the BiH Prosecutor's Office.