Krišto: I don't want to judge who is telling the truth, embassies or HDZ

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - Embassies and international organizations in Bosnia and Herzegovina have accused HDZ BiH of not wanting to support amendments to the Criminal Code in the country in a way that aligns it with modern laws, which hinders the country's fight against corruption.

The embassies of Canada, France, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, Spain, Turkey, the United Kingdom, the United States, the Office of the High Representative, and the OSCE stated that they are deeply concerned about what they described as the obvious fact that there is no genuine interest in HDZ and SNSD to implement the decision of the Constitutional Court of BiH on the Law on Criminal Procedure of BiH.

The Constitutional Court of BiH previously ruled that the Criminal Code of BiH, in the part relating to special investigative actions (including wiretapping), violates human rights in some parts. The Court requested limitations on special investigative actions for certain criminal offenses, while HDZ BiH and SNSD are seeking these limitations for all criminal offenses, which, according to experts, would not be in line with European practice.

The President of HDZ BiH, Dragan Čović, wrote to the embassies and international organizations today, accusing them in his letter of being uninformed and their assessments being arbitrary.

"I am convinced that there is no room for free and arbitrary assessments that completely unjustifiably try to shift responsibility to the domain of political parties' actions. Such an approach is extremely tendentious and unfounded...", said Čović.

When asked by the Patria agency how it is possible that nine embassies, the OHR, and the OSCE are not telling the truth, while HDZ BiH is right, the Deputy President of HDZ BiH, Borjana Krišto, said that she is not the one to judge who is right and who is not, and that HDZ is fighting for BiH to become a legal state.

"We will do our best to fight for what our programs are and what the Constitutional Court requires of us", claims Krišto. 

"First of all, we must refer to the decision of the Constitutional Court which states that (in the Law on Criminal Procedure of BiH) basic human rights are being violated. We must not allow ourselves to further strengthen this through future amendments", said Krišto.