Salihović Almost Fulfilled Hague Mandate

During his last visit to Sarajevo in November 2014, the Chief Prosecutor of the Hague Tribunal criticized the Chief Prosecutor of the Prosecutor's Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Goran Salihović.

According to information obtained by Patria at the time, Brammertz unconditionally demanded at a meeting with Salihović on November 13 that all investigations in cases categorized as "unresolved" be completed by the end of the year, and that 64 individuals suspected of committing war crimes be arrested by December 31.

Brammertz is visiting Sarajevo again from March 16 to 18. Salihović has not fully fulfilled the obligations undertaken at Brammertz's behest, but, according to sources from the BiH Prosecutor's Office for the Patria news agency, he has almost completely completed the task, which could put him in a much more favorable position than four months ago.

The activities of the BiH Prosecutor's Office in recent months have been supervised, according to Brammertz's instructions, by the Supervisory Board responsible for the implementation of the State Strategy for War Crimes Cases, which has been submitting daily reports on implemented activities to him.

The intensification of war crimes investigations in BiH followed immediately after Brammertz left Sarajevo in November.

Just three days after his departure from BiH, members of the Agency for Investigations and Protection (SIPA) arrested 12 individuals suspected of war crimes committed in 1992 against victims of Bosniak nationality in the Prijedor municipality.

Eighteen individuals are suspected in the case, and the arrested are Dušan Milunić, Radomir Stojnić, Radovan Četić, Zoran Stojnić, Željko Grbić, Ilija Zorić, Zoran Milunić, Boško Grujičić, Rade Grujčić, Uroš Grujčić, Rajko Grbić, and Rajko Gnjatović.
The suspects are under investigation for participating in a criminal enterprise aimed against the Bosniak population of the village of Zecovi, Prijedor municipality, from July 23 to 28, 1992, as members of the Army of Republika Srpska and the police, as well as the Crisis Headquarters.

A few days later, specifically on Thursday, November 27, in the Rogatica area, the BiH Prosecutor's Office requested pre-trial detention for Milkan Gojković, who was arrested on suspicion of committing crimes in the Sarajevo area and of being one of the closest associates of the criminal Veselin Vlahović Batko, who was finally sentenced to 42 years in prison for crimes committed in the Sarajevo settlements of Grbavica, Vraca, and Kovačići.

By the end of 2014, SIPA arrested another 39 individuals in BiH, who are charged with war crimes during the aggression against BiH from '92 to '95.

Among those arrested by SIPA are four individuals from Bosanska Krupa, ten individuals from Serbia, and four from BiH suspected of war crimes in Štrpci and Višegrad, when at least 20 victims, citizens of Serbia and Montenegro of Bosniak nationality, one person of Croatian nationality, and one person of Afro-Asian origin were abducted from a train on the Belgrade-Bar route and later killed in BiH, writes Patria.

During December, one person was arrested for crimes in Crkvine near Goražde, three people were arrested in Jajce, ten people were arrested on suspicion of war crimes in Zvornik, one for crimes in Vlasenica, and four people were arrested for war crimes in the Prijedor and Banja Luka areas.

Radosav Milovanović, suspected of war crimes in Srebrenica, was also arrested, while Radoman Fundup, suspected of crimes in BiH, surrendered himself to SIPA.

During 2015, seven individuals were arrested for crimes in BiH, two individuals in the Bihać and Sarajevo areas, and five in the Rogatica area.