Verdict tomorrow: Goran Zubac faces up to five years in prison!

The Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina will deliver a verdict tomorrow for Goran Zubac, Director of the State Investigation and Protection Agency (SIPA), reports the Patria News Agency.

The Prosecutor's Office of BiH, or rather the prosecuting attorney Miroslav D. Marković, requested a guilty verdict for Zubac for dereliction of duty, because as the director of SIPA, he refused to assist the Directorate for the Coordination of Police Bodies on February 7, 2014, when protests escalated into riots and the Presidency of BiH building was set on fire, causing material damage exceeding 10,000 KM.

According to the Criminal Code of BiH, Zubac faces a prison sentence of up to five years.

- An official or responsible person in the institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina who, by consciously violating laws, other regulations, or general acts, or by neglecting supervisory duties, acts obviously negligently in the performance of their duties, and as a result, a serious violation of another's rights or property damage exceeding the amount of 1,000 KM occurs, shall be punished by a fine or imprisonment of up to three years - the law states.

It further states that "if, as a result of the criminal offense from paragraph 1 of this article, a serious violation of another's rights has occurred or property damage exceeding the amount of 10,000 KM has occurred, the perpetrator shall be punished by imprisonment from six months to five years.".

Zubac's defense, in its closing arguments, maintained that there was no conscious violation of rules, as there were no similar incidents before February 7 that would have prompted a different reaction from Zubac, and requested an acquittal.

This case is being handled by Judge Mirsad Strika of the Court of BiH, and the verdict will be delivered tomorrow at 1 PM.