FIVE YEARS OF STRUGGLE Police Officer Omerović Awaits Verdict: Do You Know Who We Are? – The Sentence That Changed a Police Officer's Life

By: A. Čorbo-Zećo

Does anyone still remember the case of Tarik Omerović, a police officer with the Ministry of Interior of Tuzla Canton, who while doing his job 'stepped on the toes' of the powerful, and from then on his fight for truth and justice began.

In the meantime, he left Bosnia and Herzegovina, moved to Austria, and now awaits the pronouncement of a first-instance verdict scheduled for Thursday, April 17, before the Municipal Court in Orašje. The verdict scheduled for April 17 could be much more than a legal epilogue – it could also be a message to all officials who work honestly: does the rule of law protect them or expose them?

We recall that nearly three years have passed since the investigation against young Tuzla police officer Tarik Omerović was suspended and he was reinstated to his job, and then after all the judicial twists and turns, this case was reopened, an indictment was filed and confirmed.

The indictment was filed by the Cantonal Prosecutor's Office in Orašje and confirmed by the Court in Orašje.

Omerović, as a member of the Ministry of Interior of Tuzla Canton, while performing his regular duties and tasks, i.e., patrolling, stopped a car in which Mujaga Begić was traveling with his wife Mirzeta, who was the deputy chief prosecutor of the Tuzla Canton Prosecutor's Office.

After stopping the vehicle in which the Begićs were traveling for a routine check, they addressed him with the words: "Do you know who we are!?"

Mujaga was arrested for particularly insolent behavior and disrespect toward a police officer and taken to the police station. After that, prosecutor Begić reported the young police officer and his colleague to the Federal Police Administration, and they were soon arrested. They were charged with the criminal offenses of abuse of office and unlawful deprivation of liberty!

This case caused a great public uproar and sparked debate about whether the letter of the law applies equally to everyone. The Municipal Court in Tuzla found that there was no reasonable suspicion to order his detention (so at that time, the Court still said there was insufficient evidence to suspect he had committed a criminal offense).

At that time, the case was transferred from the Cantonal Prosecutor's Office of Tuzla Canton to the Prosecutor's Office in Orašje at the request of both the prosecutor and the defense.

After that, the prosecutor in Orašje stated that there was no reasonable suspicion and suspended the investigation. In the meantime, he was also acquitted in disciplinary proceedings.

However, the chief cantonal prosecutor rejected the victim's complaint against the suspension of the investigation.
The prosecutor from the Federal Prosecutor's Office accepted the complaint, and everything was returned to the Cantonal Prosecutor's Office in Orašje, which pro forma conducted additional expert examinations of the injuries and then filed an indictment, which the Court in Orašje confirmed!

Tarik Omerović now awaits the verdict!

His lawyer, Mirna Avdibegović, confirmed that the trial has concluded.

"We have concluded the main trial under the indictment against Tarik Omerović, which was filed after the Municipal Court in Tuzla, when deciding on the motion for detention, first found that there was no reasonable suspicion that he had committed a criminal offense, after he was acquitted in disciplinary proceedings for this incident, and after the Cantonal Prosecutor's Office of Posavina Canton suspended the investigation and rejected the victim's complaint.

However, later an indictment was still filed following the decision of the Federal Prosecutor's Office that some additional expert examinations should have been conducted. The defense pointed all this out in both opening and closing statements. And now, five years after that unfortunate incident, the main trial has concluded, and we await the pronouncement of the verdict. I can tell you that through our closing statements, we wanted to show the entire absurdity of this situation, and ultimately I pointed out that the prosecution did not prove its allegations from the indictment at all, and in fact, even the prosecution's expert witness did not confirm the allegations from the indictment," said Avdibegović.

This is not just a story about one police officer, but a mirror of the entire society: does the law apply equally to everyone, or only until you 'touch' someone powerful? Tarik, who was just doing his job, found himself in a years-long struggle with the judiciary, disciplinary proceedings, and even exile – all because he reacted professionally in a situation that should never have escalated beyond a routine check.