Mektić for Patria: Besides terrorism, the biggest threat to BiH is corruption and organized crime!

BiH Security Minister Dragan Mektić has been in the public spotlight in recent months due to his open appearances and statements about the judiciary in BiH. He openly criticizes the (in)action of the Prosecutor's Office and the Court of BiH. In an interview for the Patria agency, he speaks about problems in the judiciary, cooperation with Interior Ministries, restoring citizens' trust in the rule of law, increasing salaries for police officers...

You speak very openly about the work of the judiciary; on the other hand, some accuse you of lacking the authority to do so. Who in BiH can then speak about the work or lack thereof in the judiciary?

Mektić: I must correct you and say that I am not speaking about the work of the judiciary, but rather their lack of work and inefficiency. We have cases that were spectacularly announced, arrests were made where millions in damages were mentioned, and the fact that after several years no indictment has been filed. These are facts, and we cannot close our eyes to them. And of course, I will speak and point out inefficiency because citizens are also demanding answers to that question, and my position obliges me to speak, work, and encourage others to fight against corruption. I know that many would like nothing to be said about this, that questions about what happened with those major corruption scandals not be asked, but they will not silence me, not even with these reports and complaints.

What worries you most regarding the work of the Prosecutor's Office and the Court of BiH, and what needs to be done to finally get some things moving from a dead point? What specifically prompted you to start so offensively criticizing the work of prosecutors and judges?

Mektić: I am worried by the fact that there is not a single indictment or final verdict for major corruption cases for which there is evidence or indications that the damages amount from several hundred million to a billion marks. I am worried that there is no firm commitment or at least indications that something concrete is being done to seize that money and illegally acquired property and return it to the citizens. At the same time, governments are borrowing from the IMF to pay for basic needs such as pensions, social benefits, and some investments. I think that individuals in the BiH Prosecutor's Office were not aware of the importance of the role and responsibility of this institution for security, stability, and the rule of law in general. And everything listed directly affects our development, investments, employment... We must do this for our citizens, but it is also our main obligation on our path to the EU. And that is why it is better to start doing it immediately, rather than waiting another year for another 10,000 young people to leave the country out of hopelessness.

Since the Prosecutor's Office was established, you claim there have been no serious verdicts regarding corruption or organized crime. Why is that so, and why does the Prosecutor's Office often announce that pressure is being exerted on their independence?

Mektić: I am sorry that they defend themselves in this way against justified and well-intentioned criticism. In those statements and defenses, they often hide behind various collegiums, the entire institution... One must be fair when criticizing their work because the chief prosecutor, individual prosecutors are the most responsible... because there are also honorable and professional prosecutors there who do their job properly but sometimes cannot come to the fore due to politicking or calculations by the institution's management. Why there are no verdicts for cases where enormous damage was done is truly a question for them. I publicly called on the chief prosecutor to come out and say if there are any problems and reasons for that, so we can solve them together or expose those who are possibly obstructing. Earlier, I personally got involved when some problems were raised, and we managed to secure more funds in the budget for the Prosecutor's Office, ensure the employment of additional prosecutors who would work on the fight against terrorism... There is still such a commitment; we are ready to check if it is necessary to improve cooperation with police agencies that serve the prosecutor's office in investigations, because only together can we achieve results.

Do you have like-minded people in the Council of Ministers, and who specifically has interests in the work of the Prosecutor's Office? Are any of your coalition partners possibly exerting certain pressures?

Mektić: I could not speak about pressures because if there are any, then the Prosecutor's Office should say who they come from. I have heard some of their formulations that pressure is also insisting that they do their job, which is absurd. When they have results, I will praise them, as I recently did during a visit to the Prosecutor's Office of the Sarajevo Canton.

You also mention annulled tenders, which made you a subject of the BiH Prosecutor's Office? This is about the procurement of ID cards? Which company was the multi-million mark job 'tailored' for?

Mektić: This is another absurdity. Instead of concluding a case they started earlier regarding suspicious tenders of one institution worth over one hundred million marks, they are investigating my discussion at a session of the BiH Council of Ministers. The question was whether a building of 30,000 square meters of office space was needed for the IDDEEA building, as someone had previously contracted, and I received the answer that it was not needed and that 5,000 square meters were sufficient. It is a reasonable question why spend millions of marks on space that is not needed. Why should citizens pay for that, who are charged 18 KM for ID cards, while some estimates say production costs about three KM.

State prosecutors and judges are not subject to evaluation in a way that their job depends on their effectiveness. Can this legal framework be changed through an initiative from the Council of Ministers?

Mektić: Unfortunately, we have come to a situation where we talk a lot about the work of judicial institutions. Besides the independence that prosecutor's offices have, which is undisputed, it seems that some individuals want to be untouchable as well. That is a question for the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council (HJPC), and you saw through the discussion in the BiH Parliament that the issue of efficiency was raised. The Ministry and our agencies are ready to serve the Prosecutor's Office, and if anything needs to be further improved – we are always available.

Do you believe that the citizens of BiH are safe and that they live in a state where the rule of law is fully in effect?

Mektić: I would be happy if I could answer this question positively, and perhaps it is unusual for a minister to speak about the absence of full rule of law. But unfortunately, there are too many negative examples that any citizen could cite that make them feel unsafe. Because it is a subjective feeling, and people are suspicious if they see multiple repeat offenders of serious crimes, high-ranking individuals involved in serious crime and corruption, organized crime cases that have been without any conclusion for years... To achieve a higher degree of security and restore people's faith in the legal state and the rule of law, impeccable cooperation between citizens, the police, and the prosecutor's office is needed so that we ultimately have convictions.

Can cooperation or coordination between the Interior Ministries together with the Ministry of Security be better and greater?

Mektić: It can and must be. All agencies in the security sector in BiH have their clear role and jurisdiction. We have improved that cooperation, but there is always room and need for better relations. Right now, we are finalizing the method of cooperation with EUROPOL, where I have already held talks with the interior ministers of the RS and FBiH to make that system efficient and to be able to fulfill the obligations and expectations of our partners in the world.

Besides terrorism, what is the biggest other threat to the security of BiH citizens? What specifically has the Strike Force for the Fight against Terrorism done since its existence?

Mektić: At the very top of security challenges are corruption and organized crime. These threats are often connected and intertwined because money obtained through corruption and money laundering can be misused to finance terrorist activities. The damage from corruption, which has affected all pores of society, is enormous, ranging from the undermining of the banking system, the collapse of companies, the lack of investments, to direct consequences for citizens such as poverty, unemployment, social and every other inequality... When it comes to the fight against terrorism, there are positive developments. The threat is still great, but we have shown that we can control and prosecute persons who were involved in or incited terrorism. A very important step forward we have made in cooperation is that representatives of all security agencies and the prosecutor's office sit in one place and work together daily, exchanging information. In some previous terrorist attacks, this proved to be a major problem and shortcoming.

In one of the anti-terrorism strategies of the Ministry of Security, the Ravna Gora Chetnik movement was marked as a threat to national security. What has changed in the meantime so that this is no longer the case, even though they still gather today?

Mektić: The Strategy does not mention any group individually. The goal of the Strategy is clearly defined, and that is the suppression of all forms of extremist and terrorist activities while respecting the values of democracy, the rule of law, and human rights and freedoms. Therefore, it is clear that there are no pre-qualified or pre-excluded groups. Everything depends on their actions.

Citizens have generally lost trust in the police. How to restore trust, and are more extensive security checks of police officers or those applying for the job necessary?

Mektić: Trust is gained but also lost through work. If the results are good, citizens will certainly have trust in the police. At the same time, there are examples of police officers damaging the reputation of the institution and the profession they practice. But the arrests we have had so far show that the police are ready to clean their own ranks of crime and corruption.

What can you do so that employees of SIPA, the Border Police, and the Directorate for Coordination of Police Bodies finally get equal coefficients, as many assess that it is shameful that these police officers have the lowest salaries in the police sector in the country?

Mektić: I have advocated for increasing the salaries and working conditions of police officers since I came to this position, and this has been particularly intensified in the last few months during which we have had several meetings with the union and agreed on modalities for salary increases. The justification for this exists because the salaries of police officers at the state level are significantly lower than those of their colleagues at the federal level, and even some cantons. The procedure is ongoing, and I believe that we will very soon achieve an increase in coefficients for police officers in these three agencies.