FAMILY TIES, CORRUPTION, CRIME How to clean up BiH judiciary from compromised prosecutors and judges

By: Amra Vrabac

Judge of the Court of BiH Dalida Burzić has been suspended from her duties as a judge until the investigation initiated by the Order on Conducting an Investigation of the Prosecutor's Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina dated 31.08.2022 is concluded. This concerns the case of Dženan Memić, and Burzić was the first person reported in the criminal complaint filed with the Prosecutor's Office of BiH in October 2018 by Muriz Memić and lawyer Ifet Feraget. What the Prosecutor's Office of BiH has been doing all these years is a question for the chief state prosecutors as well as for the prosecutors themselves. Prosecutors working on this investigation, Ćazim Hasanspahić and Dubravko Čampara, as well as the earlier one that resulted in an indictment against five people being tried at the Court of BiH in connection with hiding and falsifying evidence about the cause of Dženan Memić's death, had no obstacle to issue an order for investigation of murder earlier. Other prosecutors could have done it too. But they didn't.   

Burzić is suspected of organized crime, and the law prescribes a prison sentence of 10 years or a long-term prison sentence.

“As the suspect holds the position of a judge of the Court of BiH, the First Instance Disciplinary Commission considers that conducting a criminal investigation against the appointee for the stated criminal offense, while she performs her duties as a judge of the Court of BiH, jeopardizes the credibility of the said institution, which is why her temporary removal from performing the function of a judge of the Court of BiH until the conclusion of the criminal investigation initiated by the Order is justified.

The First Instance Disciplinary Commission considers it necessary to temporarily remove the suspect from performing the duties of a judge of the said Court in order to create conditions for an impartial and objective conduct of the criminal investigation. This decision will simultaneously protect the professional integrity of the appointee, as well as the integrity of the Court in which the appointee performs her function,” stated the First Instance Disciplinary Commission of the HJPC today.

When the Memić family warned the HJPC not to appoint Burzić as a judge of the Court of BiH, because a disciplinary procedure was also underway against her at the time for her conduct in this case, inappropriate contacts, and commenting on an active case in public, the members of the HJPC ignored this appeal.

The disciplinary procedure was concluded quickly, and the then-president of the HJPC, Milan Tegeltija, revealed the decision of the Disciplinary Commission, although it had not been officially announced, and Burzić was even faster appointed as a judge.

Several prosecutors worked on the Dženan Memić case and represented the indictment for a traffic accident, and who have moved from the Prosecutor's Office of KS from 2016 to today to the Prosecutor's Office of BiH. Burzić was present at the swearing-in ceremony for some of them while she was heading the Prosecutor's Office of KS. The investigation by the Prosecutor's Office of BiH will certainly include them either as suspects or as witnesses. The then-prosecutor in charge, Meris Ćato, has the status of a suspect, and he also left the Prosecutor's Office of KS in the middle of the case before the Cantonal Court and became a lawyer. The Memić case was led to the end by prosecutor Sead Kreštalica, also one of those reported in the criminal complaint. Kreštalica has advanced and also holds the position of deputy chief cantonal prosecutor Sabina Sarajlija.  

The Memić family has never wavered from their claims. Just as six years ago, so today they believe that the Prosecutor's Office of KS intentionally made omissions in the investigation of the Dženan Memić case, deliberately changed the qualification of the criminal offense, and helped to conceal illegal actions by certain prosecutors, as well as by individuals who can be linked to the death of the young man. The family also warned about the status of the direct witness from that night, Alisa Mutap, and Burzić will have to answer all questions.

The Court of BiH has faced numerous scandals in recent years, which Judge Branko Perić has openly spoken about. The president of the Court of BiH, Ranko Debevec, who was claimed to be in close relations with Burzić, was also under investigation.

The Court of BiH used to inundate the public with open letters rejecting so-called attacks on their reputation and honor, but yesterday and today there has been silence from this judicial institution, even though a member of that institution is facing serious accusations. 

Silence has also prevailed for days in the Prosecutor's Office of BiH. Not only about the investigation in the Dženan Memić case, but also about the transfer of prosecutor Oleg Čavka from the Department for Organized Crime to the Department for War Crimes. Before Čavka, the same happened with Diana Kajmaković. No one believes the unconvincing explanation of the Prosecutor's Office of BiH that it is an internal reorganization.

Several scandals have involved the name of prosecutor Čavka. He was also disciplined for some cases. However, this did not prevent the former chief state prosecutor Gordana Tadić from assigning him some high-profile cases. 

However, it seems that the Sky and Anom applications and the decryption of data have cost at least two prosecutors their reputation. Both Čavka and Kajmaković were mentioned in the communications of criminal groups, linking them to alleged illegal activities and corruption. Acting Chief Prosecutor Milanko Kajganić is not even considering suspending prosecutors. He is busy with new investigations, indictments, as was the case in the "Dobrovoljačka" case, about which the Hague Tribunal has already said everything. However, Kajganić, with his loyal prosecutor who agreed to sign the indictment, Mladen Vukojičić, has his own view of the events of May 2 and 3, 1992. 

The state of the judiciary is a festering wound of BiH society. Ordered indictments from neighboring countries, expedited investigations or timing just before elections or other events, even though complaints have been gathering dust for years and hidden in drawers, compromised personnel prone to corruption and selling their profession are just part of the judicial pyramid whose apex is politics.

No matter how much the judiciary tries to distance itself from politics, the appointments of judges, prosecutors, and members of the HJPC are made by agreement, national distribution, and favors.

Opening HJPC sessions to the public would be the first signal that they are ready to show that processes are not hidden or agreed upon. But that will not happen. 

It would take a lot of time to list all the family ties that exist among employees in the Prosecutor's Office of BiH, the Court of BiH, and the HJPC. All of this is a breeding ground for corruption, which the members of the judiciary should actually be fighting against.

In addition, the Prosecutor's Office of KS, headed by Sabina Sarajlija, against whom a disciplinary lawsuit has been filed for violations of the principle of impartiality and negligence and carelessness in the performance of official duties, should be added.

“On July 13 this year, the Office filed a disciplinary lawsuit with the First Instance Disciplinary Commission of the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council of Bosnia and Herzegovina against Sabina Sarajlija, chief prosecutor of the Cantonal Prosecutor's Office in Sarajevo. Due to disciplinary offenses of 'violation of the principle of impartiality', 'negligence or carelessness in the performance of official duties', and 'interference with the work of a judge or prosecutor with the intent to obstruct or belittle their activities' under the Law on the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council of Bosnia and Herzegovina,” stated the Office of the Disciplinary Prosecutor of the HJPC.