Cantonal Prosecutor's Office: Release of Faruk Balijagić is Illegal

On December 31, 2015, in the afternoon hours, the Cantonal Prosecutor's Office in Sarajevo received a decision from the Cantonal Court in Sarajevo, in a panel composed of judges Vladimir Špoljarić, Gordana Stojaković, and Braca Stupar, by which the custody of the accused Faruk Balijagić was terminated, reports the Patria news agency.

At that time, the defense attorney of the accused, Mirnes Ajanović, publicly responded and in his statement misinterpreted the court's decision.
  
For the objective information of the public, we emphasize that in its decision, the Cantonal Court in Sarajevo states as the reason for terminating the custody of the accused Balijagić that the life of the accused would be endangered if Faruk Balijagić were to attend the panel session regarding the proposal for extending custody.

This is considering his health condition (on December 8, 2015, surgery of the accused's aortic arch was performed, editor's note).

Yesterday, the Cantonal Prosecutor's Office in Sarajevo filed an appeal against this decision, because the court's conclusion about the "life endangerment of the accused" was made without conducting an expert examination, solely based on the statements of physician doc. dr. Nermir Granov and the conclusion of court expert Hamza dr. Žuja given without a court order.

We note that the accused Faruk Balijagić, according to the statement of defense attorney Ajanović given to the media, immediately upon receiving the court's decision left the hospital and went to Tuzla.

Furthermore, this Prosecutor's Office considers that the court did not act according to the instructions of the Supreme Court of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Namely, the Supreme Court of the FBiH had previously overturned that court's decision because the court did not give the accused Balijagić the opportunity to comment on the Prosecutor's Office's proposal, which according to the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Code of the FBiH in this specific situation does not imply his presence at the court. Namely, the law prescribes that such a statement can be given by the accused even in the hospital.

All the reasons why the Cantonal Court in Sarajevo's decision to release the accused Faruk Balijagić is considered illegal have been presented by the Prosecutor's Office in its appeal, which will be decided upon by the Supreme Court of the FBiH, states the announcement of the Cantonal Prosecutor's Office.