VSTV rejected the proposal of Chief Prosecutor Sarajlija: Who promised Kreštalica he would be her deputy?

By: Amra Varatanović

The High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council rejected the proposal of the Chief Prosecutor of the Sarajevo Canton Prosecutor's Office, Sabina Sarajlija, to appoint prosecutor Sead Kreštalica as acting deputy chief prosecutor, stating that this position is completely unnecessary.

The Law on the Sarajevo Canton Prosecutor's Office in Article 5 is clear: "The chief prosecutor has a maximum of two deputies. The number of deputy chief prosecutors and the number of prosecutors is determined by the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council."

The former chief prosecutor of the Sarajevo Canton, Dalida Burzić, had three deputies: Aida Topalović, Berina Alihodžić, and Anika Kešelj. After Burzić was appointed as a judge of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Anika Kešelj was elected acting chief prosecutor, and only a few months later, Kešelj moved to the Federal Prosecutor's Office. Sabina Sarajlija was appointed chief prosecutor, and her deputies remained Berina Alihodžić (a member of the HJPC) and Aida Topalović.

The proposal of Chief Prosecutor Sarajlija to appoint Kreštalica as deputy chief prosecutor is controversial for several reasons. A criminal complaint has been filed against Kreštalica with the State Prosecutor's Office regarding his handling of the Dženan Memić case. Kreštalica has also been compromised in some earlier cases where he negotiated around certain indictments. Kreštalica has been disciplined, and the biggest burden he carries is due to the Memić case, in which he, together with Burzić, attempted to maintain a false indictment for a traffic accident. Because of this, Kreštalica was supposed to be rewarded with this position.

The State Prosecutor's Office is conducting an investigation into organized crime, and the investigation includes several individuals. Article 26 of the Law on the Sarajevo Canton Prosecutor's Office stipulates that "the chief prosecutor, deputy chief prosecutors, and prosecutors cannot be held criminally or civilly liable for any act committed during the performance of their official duties." However, despite this provision, the State Prosecutor's Office will have the task of prosecuting all omissions of the reported individuals who in any way led the investigation in the Memić case in the wrong direction, deliberately concealed and planted evidence, and influenced witnesses. There is a legal basis for prosecution in the form of abuse of official position by holders of judicial functions.

It is up to the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council to examine the responsibility of Chief Prosecutor Sarajlija in the Kreštalica case and why she submitted a proposal for his appointment knowing that the law prescribes two deputy positions. Whether former Chief Prosecutor Burzić promised Kreštalica that position, and Sarajlija had to be the executor, is a question for the judicial institutions.
If the HJPC claims that the position of a third deputy is fabricated, then the question arises as to how Burzić previously had three deputies and why the HJPC did not react then.