Mutual accusations without coordination: Edita and Selma are gone, the public is being strung along by official duty

The Ministry of Interior of Sarajevo Canton and the Cantonal Prosecutor's Office are engaged in a verbal war over who first obtained information from the Border Police about the escape of the hit-and-run killer Sanjin Sefić across the border into Serbia, writes the news agency Patria. The Prosecutor's Office of Sarajevo Canton could no longer wait for the Ministry of Interior of Sarajevo Canton and requested the information on its own.

Prosecutor of Sarajevo Canton Dalida Burzić stated in the media  that “the Prosecutor's Office of Sarajevo Canton, with the help of the Intelligence and Security Agency (OSA) of BiH and the Border Police of BiH, determined that Sanjin Sefić left BiH this morning (Tuesday, October 11) via the border with Serbia and headed in an unknown direction, which should have been done by the Ministry of Interior of Sarajevo Canton”.

- Given that the person was identified one hour after the traffic accident, the Ministry of Interior of Sarajevo Canton should have taken all actions to find the person. However, the Cantonal Prosecutor's Office of Sarajevo determined this on its own and before the Ministry reported it to the media at 9 PM tonight, and not to the prosecutor - said Burzić. 

This brings us to the problem of respecting the law and coordination among state services. Much later, it was learned that the cantonal police, seven hours before the escape of the identified hit-and-run killer, informed the Border Police of BiH that Sanjin Sefić was the person suspected of committing this double murder. According to the prosecutor's statement, the police informed the Border Police, and the Border Police informed the prosecutor.    

If the Ministry of Interior did not inform the Prosecutor's Office but instead forwarded this information to the Border Police and the public first, that is indeed a serious mistake by the Ministry of Interior of Sarajevo Canton, from which information is primarily expected to go to the prosecutor's office. Prosecutor Burzić admitted that the Prosecutor's Office determined the details of the accident on its own and without the Ministry of Interior of the Canton.

Therefore, at that moment, the prosecutor's office had the name and facts about the hit-and-run before it, however it obtained them. No matter how much one knows about the sensitivity of the prosecutor's work, the particularity of the situation dictated an urgent response. At all costs.

There is Article 18 of the Criminal Procedure Code of the Federation of BiH or Article 17 of the Criminal Procedure Code of BiH on the principle of legality of criminal prosecution: „The prosecutor is obliged to undertake criminal prosecution if there is evidence that a criminal offense has been committed“...

Thus, the situation with the classic hit-and-run killing of two girls required a swift response. However, based on these statements by the prosecutor, it appears that things are not going as they should. There is no coordination between the institutions for the protection and enforcement of the law.

And there hasn't been for a long time, and in critical amounts. The horrific murder of two girls, who moreover were not from this city but came here to study and build their future, was a real opportunity for the state to show its teeth, strength, and efficiency.     

 But, as usual, we had and still have only a futile debate from those from whom we expect exclusively action and deeds. From whom we expect protection of citizens and justice for citizens. From whom we demand a state of law and whom we pay well to have a state of law.     

Unfortunately, even during the tragic night, they were dealing with the issue of jurisdiction, at a time when desperate citizens were seeking a grain of justice and while the killer was fleeing towards the border.

Shouldn't they forget their vanities, their inflated egos, and all react according to their official duty. And according to the human and moral duty that should be above all other obligations. The public prosecutor is competent to assess in each individual case what must be done in the name of justice and fairness and the protection of citizens.  

Unfortunately, there is no reaction to the evidence that journalists have been writing about and presenting documents on for years. The public prosecutor should take seriously the warnings from last night's protests of citizens in the stormy rain and cold, the wails and tears over the loss of two young and promising lives. The public prosecutor answers to the public and deals with the problems of the public, not just waiting for information from the police.  

A journalist from Patria timely asked the competent police officer whether the suspect for the double murder of innocent girls was still in the country. She was told that the Ministry of Interior does not engage in speculation. Thus, journalists also warned of that possibility.   

In recent years, we have on several occasions heard the rarity that certain journalists filed criminal complaints against persons whose criminal and illegal actions they had presented to the public. This may only be necessary for local prosecutors who do not respect their own Criminal Procedure Code, which tells them that they must also do this ex officio.

We have a sluggish and overly cumbersome system that only functions when it needs to defend its own positions within that dysfunctional system, and then publicly debate by leveling accusations at someone's inaction and incompetence. And to confirm the lack of coordination between inaction and incompetence. All of this has been seen before, all of this is known to the citizens.

The two girls, Edita Malkoč and Selma Agić, are gone, and that is the end and the beginning of everything.