Mektić confirmed Stanić, accused of war crimes, will not be suspended

By: A. Čorbo-Zećo

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Dragan Mektić, BiH Security Minister, today admitted that Radenko Stanić, suspected of war crimes, will not be suspended from the Ministry! When asked by a Patria journalist why he had not suspended Stanić after the indictment in his case was confirmed, and on the statement that the public expects a resolution to this situation, Mektić said that the public cannot expect someone's suspension.

"More precisely, we cannot suspend someone because the public expects it. According to the law, suspension is not mandatory in this case. I consulted the legal service, and they told me that suspension is not mandatory in this case. Therefore, Stanić did not have to be suspended," Mektić told NAP.

The Law on Civil Service in the Institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which the Ministry also refers to, proves that Minister Mektić is wrong. Namely, Article 58, Paragraph 2, point a) stipulates that preventive suspension is used "if criminal proceedings have been initiated against a civil servant for a criminal offense for which a prison sentence of at least five years is imposed." For the criminal offense of which Mektić's assistant Stanić is accused, a minimum sentence of ten years in prison is prescribed: "War crimes against the civilian population of the Criminal Code of BiH.".

Stanić is indicted before the Court of BiH for the most serious crimes. Along with Stanić, Miroslav Kraljević, known as Mićo, Mane Đurić, and Goran Garić are to be on the defendant's bench. The BiH Prosecutor's Office accuses all four of them of acting contrary to the provisions of international humanitarian law and the Geneva Conventions on the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War during 1992 and 1993.

The indictment also includes the murder and forced disappearance of at least 22 people, unlawful detention, torture, abuse, as well as looting and destruction of property of the Bosniak population.