PROSECUTOR'S OFFICE SEEKS WARRANT for Dismissal of Zoran Galić, Emergency Session Today

By Amra Vrabac

The dismissal of fugitive Zoran Galić will not be long in waiting, even though the Council of Ministers of BiH is on annual leave, and a new regular session is expected in the last week of this month. An extraordinary session has been scheduled for today, starting at 6 PM, with Galić as the sole agenda item. The Prosecutor's Office of BiH has requested the Court of BiH to issue an arrest warrant for Galić, reported Istraga.ba.

Tužilaštvo BiH zatražilo raspisivanje crvene potjernice za Zoranom Galićem: Da li će Hrvatska zaštiti odbjeglog policajca koji je sarađivao s kriminalcima koje je hapsio USKOK https://t.co/MyZS5vXKpE

— Istraga.ba (@IstragaB) August 6, 2024

When the Council of Ministers of BiH rejected the request for the dismissal of the Deputy Director of SIPA on August 1st, submitted by fugitive Galić's legal team and seeking an opinion from the Independent Body, which held a session the same day and determined that the Council of Ministers of BiH could consider Galić's dismissal, no further action was taken by the Council of Ministers of BiH. Until today.

In the dismissal request, Galić's lawyers stated that he was seeking termination of employment to meet retirement conditions as of July 8th. It is from this date that Galić has been in Croatia, where he fled to avoid arrest and prosecution for the criminal offense of receiving gifts and abuse of position and authority while he was the Director of the BiH Border Police.

According to its authorities, the Independent Body is the sole body competent to initiate the dismissal of directors and deputy directors of police agencies. The Independent Body received the dismissal request, which they did not consider at all, but instead opened the path for Galić's dismissal to the Council of Ministers of BiH from their jurisdiction.

If he were dismissed, rather than released as Galić is requesting from Croatia, he would not receive any benefits. If they were to release him, it would also enable him to receive severance pay for retirement.

Galić's salary for July was calculated solely for the days he spent at work. Given that he did not officially take sick leave or submit medical certificates for it, and was not allowed to use his annual leave, which is planned in advance in police agencies, he requested termination effective from the date he left BiH. According to Patria's information, Galić had already met the conditions for retirement earlier, not from July 8th when he decided to use it and try to avoid dismissal.

The Director of SIPA, Darko Ćulum, did not allow Galić to use his annual leave, and by July 25th, he had not submitted sick leave certificates, which is why his timesheet for the days he was not at work could not be completed.

The Minister of Security of BiH, Nenad Nešić, stated after the last session of the Council of Ministers of BiH that there was no time to lose, and if necessary, they would convene by phone and make a statement on the matter.

However, such matters cannot be resolved by phone and depend on the vote of one person from any nation.
Nešić, as the Minister of Security and as someone who claims to be a legalist, should be the first to call for Galić's dismissal, not leave room for various agreements with HDZ, of which Galić is a cadre, on whether the fugitive will even be allowed to profit from his escape from justice.