Trial of Mektić and Others: Will the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina Exclude the Public?

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - The trial of former BiH Security Minister Dragan Mektić, who is accused of committing the criminal offense of high-level corruption by abusing his position and authority, begins today. Mektić arrived at the building of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and there is great media interest in the trial itself. 

The judge in this case is Dalida Burzić, the former chief prosecutor of the Sarajevo Canton Prosecutor's Office, who is under the shadow of the Dženan Memić murder case. 

The indictment against Mektić was filed by the Prosecutor's Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and it also includes the former head of the cabinet of the BiH Security Minister Igor Golijanin, the assistant minister in the Ministry of Security of BiH Samir Agić, and Edin Garaplija, as the responsible person and owner of the Institute for Fire and Explosion Protection - INZA d.o.o. Sarajevo.

Mektić and Agić are charged with the extended criminal offense of abuse of position or authority under Article 220, paragraph 3 of the Criminal Code (CC) of BiH, Golijanin with the extended criminal offense of abuse of position or authority under Article 220, paragraph 2 of the CC BiH, and Garaplija with the extended criminal offense of abuse of position or authority under Article 220, paragraph 3 in conjunction with Article 31 of the CC BiH.

According to the indictment, the aforementioned individuals committed the criminal offense of high-level corruption by abusing their position and authority, which damages the international reputation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Various instances of abuse of position or authority by the highest state officials and employees in the Ministry of Security of BiH have been documented during the implementation of an interstate cross-border cooperation project in the field of firefighting, which was financed by the Delegation of the European Union to BiH, with the project value amounting to 198,454.51 euros.

The total damage caused amounts to 244,764.21 BAM, and the Prosecutor's Office of BiH will prove the allegations of the indictment by calling 31 witnesses and submitting 140 pieces of material evidence.

Yesterday, Mektić commented on the decision of the Prosecutor's Office of BiH not to submit the indictment to Transparency International BiH, which was filed against Mektić and three other individuals. 

„This is a politically motivated and fabricated indictment. It is a confusing indictment that even the Prosecutor's Office itself does not understand. The problem is that others have realized this as well, some non-governmental organizations that monitor the rule of law, and TI BiH, fully in accordance with the Law on Free Access to Information, requested that this indictment be delivered to them. The Prosecutor's Office, in order to cover up its blunder, its shame, and to prevent it from being seen that this is indeed a fabricated matter, declared an indictment secret. An indictment for which the trial is public, the public has not been excluded. Ordinary citizens and non-governmental organizations can attend that trial. Which indictment was still secret? None,“ said Mektić. 

He stated that by excluding the public, the Prosecutor's Office wants to hide its blunder.