MEMIĆ CASE: Acquittal for Ljubo and Bekrija Seferović in Retrial

SARAJEVO, (Patria) – The trial panel of the Cantonal Court in Sarajevo, presided over by Judge Igor Todorović, issued an acquittal in the retrial for Ljubo and Bekrija Seferović, who were tried for a traffic accident and obstruction of evidence in the case of Dženan Memić's death. The court fully acquitted the defendants of paying court costs and fees, and referred the injured party, Alisa Mutap, to pursue a property claim.

The parties have the right to appeal.

After the Supreme Court of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina overturned the first-instance acquittal, a retrial began, during which a new traffic expert examination was conducted, and by court decision, an additional medical expert examination was also carried out. Traffic experts determined that there is no evidence that a traffic accident occurred on the night of February 8, 2016, on Velika aleja; no point of impact was identified, no skid marks were found, there were no injuries to the pedestrian, and no signs of being thrown after impact. The injuries listed in the autopsy report of Dženan Memić do not correspond to those typical of a traffic accident in which a pedestrian suffers fractures of the leg or pelvis, or internal organ damage. Alisa Mutap, who was in the company of Dženan Memić, also sustained injuries that the expert claims were caused by a blunt object.

Memić had injuries on the left side of his head, as well as abrasions on his knees and hands as a result of a fall.

The experts also calculated that damaging the A-pillar of the T4 van, as in this case, would have required a force or weight of 370 kg. Dženan Memić's total weight was 90 kg, and the weight of his head was about 9 kg. Even if he had hit the van's A-pillar, he could not have caused the damage that the Sarajevo Canton Prosecutor's Office claims resulted from a head impact. Medical expert Vlado Marković agreed with the autopsy findings that the head injury was caused by a blunt object.

The Memić family has announced new protests, during which they will demand that the killers of Dženan Memić finally be found. The State Prosecutor's Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina has opened an investigation into organized crime in the Dženan Memić case, and several individuals linked to the investigation have been questioned.

The Memić case will remain recorded as the only case where the victim's family and the Sarajevo Canton Prosecutor's Office were on opposing sides.