DANGEROUS GAMES Malkić and Knežević covered up incident in SIPA, are they going to head of BiH Border Police together?

SARAJevo, (Patria) – Police agencies in BiH, whose leaders should be non-partisan figures, which is not the case in practice, are one of the most powerful tools that political parties and their leaders use for personal gain and settling scores, abusing resources that should be at the service of all citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

It is an open secret that for years it has been known which political party holds the leadership position in every police and security agency. A blatant example of complete control over the work of a police institution is the State Investigation and Protection Agency. Although two directors have changed in the past two terms, Perica Stanić (SDS) and the current one, Darko Ćulum (SNSD), all processes are managed by the deputy in his second term, Đuro Knežević, a cadre of Čović's HDZ BiH.

Knežević is the key person in SIPA who also controls the heads of regional offices, regardless of which quota of constituent peoples they belong to.

Edin Malkić is the head of the Regional Office Sarajevo, and according to Patria's information, it was precisely Knežević and Malkić who covered up an incident that occurred a few months ago during a gathering of SIPA employees. Director Ćulum was allegedly not informed about this incident, which was a very serious incident involving a physical altercation between several individuals. The director should have been informed about this, as it was an incident with a nationalistic undertone.

Due to the situation and atmosphere prevailing in the Regional Office Sarajevo, about ten inspectors/investigators have already left RU Sarajevo and requested transfers to other organizational units. Otherwise, Malkić is not strictly focused on his job, so investigators and inspectors do not have bulletproof vests during SIPA operations, and as the responsible person, he is obliged to provide material and technical resources and protect the lives of his subordinates. Prosecutors at the BiH Prosecutor's Office are also aware of this, but this problem has not been resolved for years. 

The fact that this is true is evidenced by a letter from SIPA sent to Patria, in which they state that they do not procure from SIPA's budget when it comes to equipping police officers.

“Uniforms for members of the Special Support Unit were provided by donors in previous years, and no procurement was made from SIPA's budget,” SIPA stated.

What is worrying is that it is foreseen that only police officers for the Special Support Unit wear police uniforms, so inspectors and investigators are 'bare-handed' at the doors of dangerous criminals, despite all the equipment possessed by the Special Support Unit of SIPA, but its use is regulated by a Rulebook that causes more harm than good.

Within SIPA, the national balance in leadership positions has been disturbed for years, mostly to the detriment of Bosniaks.

Patria published a possible rotation in leadership positions in police agencies a few months ago, in which key people from HDZ BiH were involved.

Thus, there is a plan for Knežević to be appointed director of the BiH Border Police after his term expires, or perhaps even before, and the current director of that agency, Zoran Galić, to head the FUP. However, given the outcome of the competition and the likelihood of the procedure being repeated, it seems that Galić will remain where he is for some time longer.

The latest scandal with the competition for the admission of cadets to the BiH Border Police has also put Galić in a compromising situation, and the investigation is being conducted by the BiH Prosecutor's Office. We have not received an answer from the BiH Border Police and Galić for 15 days regarding the fate of the admission of 150 cadets.

HDZ's personnel puzzle is moving in the direction of appointing Robert Perić, head of the South Field Office of the BiH Border Police, who is related to the president of HDZ BiH, Dragan Čović, as deputy director of SIPA instead of Knežević. Perić is also one of the candidates for director of the FUP, and as Patria was told, HDZ was unsure whether Galić would apply because he was not being offered the position of director of the BiH Border Police, where he had just been appointed for his second term.

And Edin Malkić sees himself in the position of deputy director of the Border Police. This might be the reason for his closeness with Knežević, while dissatisfied employees are leaving RU Sarajevo due to Malkić's management and interference in investigations, about which prosecutors are also aware.

Both Galić and Knežević have been reported to the BiH Prosecutor's Office multiple times for various criminal offenses.

In all reports, Knežević is accused of multiple criminal offenses related to corruption, nepotism, undermining the reputation of SIPA, disclosure of official secrets, obstruction of justice, and illegal promotions and awards.