Memić Case: Numerous Police Failures Confirmed, but KS Prosecutor's Office Finds No Criminal Liability!

On the day his murdered son Dženan Memić would have turned 23, Muriz Memić received a notification from the KS Prosecutor's Office that the investigation against five police officers, for whom the Ad hoc body of the KS Assembly had also established numerous failures in handling the Dženan Memić case, has been discontinued, reports the Patria agency.

The KS Prosecutor's Office states in its explanation that the investigation is being discontinued against Josip Barić, Hasan Dupovac, Elmedin Konaković, Vahidin Džana and Erol Aždajić. They are charged with negligent work in service and disclosure of official secrets, but this does not constitute a criminal offense.

- Their actions represent disciplinary responsibility for serious violations of official duty prescribed by the Law on Police Officers of Sarajevo Canton - it is stated.

The KS Prosecutor's Office now states that the hearing of witness Alisa Mutap was decisive for the "direction of the investigation". We recall that the earlier claim was that officer Barić had changed statements himself.

Incidentally, the KS Prosecutor's Office had already on April 4, 2016, pointed out and initiated a procedure to determine possible responsibility of a police officer from the KS MUP.

- And that was as soon as it noticed and concluded that the investigation in the specific case had gone in the wrong direction and that work on the case was compromised due to information leaks and parallelism in work. The Prosecutor's Office, ex officio, without waiting for any results of the Report of the "Ad hoc" body and the conclusions of the Assembly, began work on the case in May 2016 to determine possible criminal responsibility of officials of the KS MUP - the KS Prosecutor's Office previously stated.

However, the KS Prosecutor's Office now contradicts itself by stating that Mutap was nevertheless responsible for a different direction of the investigation.

- During the investigation into the work of police officers who undertook official actions in this case, it was established that they acted contrary to the provisions regulating the conduct and application of police powers of police members, namely the Law on Internal Affairs, the Law on Police Officers of Sarajevo Canton, the Law on Criminal Procedure, the Instructions on the conduct and cooperation of police officers (OSL) of the Police Administration of the KS MUP and prosecutors in conducting evidentiary actions during the investigation, as established in its report by the Ad Hoc body for conducting parliamentary oversight over the legality of the work of the KS MUP and the Police Administration, which was formed by the Security Commission of the Assembly of Sarajevo Canton on June 3, 2016 - state from the KS Prosecutor's Office.

They further state that "from the actions of authorized officials, the existence of serious violations of official duty and negligent conduct in performing the same is evident, but negligent conduct in performing official duty in itself is not a criminal offense, but a disciplinary offense, given that it represents a violation of the rules of performing official and work duties."

This explanation from the KS Prosecutor's Office can be interpreted in the context of the entire case for which a court trial is being conducted against Ljubo and Bekrija Seferović for the criminal offense against the safety of public traffic, failure to provide assistance to a person injured in a traffic accident, and obstruction of evidence.

On the other hand, the Professional Standards Unit of the KS MUP itself has initiated procedures against several police officers to determine violations of official duty in their conduct.

For officer Konaković, a violation of official duty was established, but the Disciplinary Commission dismissed it due to statute of limitations because more than a year had passed. On February 19, 2016, officer Konaković discovered that there were surveillance cameras at the Hotel Crystal Ilidža that recorded the event of February 8, 2016, between 9:30 PM and 11:00 PM when Dženan Memić sustained injuries. When he wanted to seize the disputed video material, the electricity went out, and he left his number with the responsible person at the hotel to call him when the electricity came back.

During the weekend, officer E.K. was assigned to other duties and tasks and did not contact the hotel nor go to the scene. He only went on Monday, February 22, 2016, when it was determined that the mentioned video surveillance system did not contain recordings for February 8, 9, and 10.

As stated in the Ad hoc body's report, there is suspicion that they were "deliberately removed, although they were present." Interestingly, there is no recording from February 9, when the police investigation continued in the morning hours and when "pieces of plastic and light green paint" were found at the scene in Velika aleja.

Similarly, Hasan Dupovac, then head of the Traffic Department of the KS MUP, attended the autopsy of Dženan Memić even though this was not stated in the official record. Dupovac even demonstrated the "events" from the fateful night of February 8, 2016, to Muriz Memić. Dupovac even wanted to buy a green Renault Clio that the KS MUP was checking in connection with the disputed event.

It is now clear that all these actions have become statute-barred, and the Memić family will not receive even moral satisfaction that someone will be held accountable for the failures in uncovering the truth about the tragic death of the unfortunate young man. It remains to be seen what will happen to those who are legally responsible for the investigation and who allowed such failures to occur.