Mirsad Vilić: There was no basis to provide Tegeltija with physical protection

SARAJevo, (Patria) - Director of the Directorate for Coordination of Police Bodies in BiH (DKPT) Mirsad Vilić confirmed for agency Patria that the Directorate assessed that the security of the President of the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council of BiH (VSTV) Milan Tegeltija is not threatened, which is why the request for Tegeltija to receive personal security was rejected.

"The Law on the Directorate for Coordination of Police Bodies and Support Agencies to the Police Structure of BiH, and the decision of the Council of Ministers of BiH on the transfer of tasks, facilities, work equipment and employees between the Ministry of Security of BiH, SIPA and DKPT define the competencies related to protected persons. The Directorate is not competent nor authorized to establish Tegeltija's direct physical security," Vilić told Patria.

He added that in accordance with this, Tegeltija's request for personal security was rejected, and that he was advised to contact the competent police administrations in case of new information about threats to his security.

VSTV President Milan Tegeltija requested personal security from the Directorate for Coordination of Police Bodies in BiH during his stay in Sarajevo, after citizen protests were announced for Wednesday in front of the BiH Court building, which also houses the BiH Prosecutor's Office and VSTV.

Based on the data collected by the Directorate from several security agencies, it was assessed that Tegeltija's security is not threatened.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Tuzla Canton, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Bos Podrinje Canton, the Agency for Investigations and Protection (SIPA), and the Brčko District Police did not have specific data on Tegeltija's potential endangerment.

Žurnal previously published a scandal about the involvement of the President of the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Milan Tegeltija, in a corruption affair, in which he was supposed to influence the then Chief Prosecutor of Sarajevo Canton, Dalida Burzić, to expedite a criminal case, while Marko Pandža, an inspector of SIPA, took 2,000 KM from a businessman from Velika Kladuša for that service from Tegeltija, noting that he would "grease the wheels" for Tegeltija with that money.

Tegeltija rejected the allegations of involvement in the affair, after which a video of the conversation between Tegeltija, Pandža and businessman Nermin Alešević was also published.

Minister of Security of Bosnia and Herzegovina Dragan Mektić called on citizens to gather in front of the Court and Prosecutor's Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Sarajevo, in response to the corruption affair shaking the judiciary in the country.