75 people arrested in 10 days, why have political murders remained unsolved for over a decade?

FBiH Vice President Mirsad Kebo has still not received an answer from the BiH Prosecutor's Office regarding the investigation into political murders, confirmed Laura Bošnjak, media advisor in the cabinet of the FBiH Vice President for the BiH news agency Patria.

- We are still awaiting an answer - Bošnjak said.

FBiH Vice President Mirsad Kebo requested this information, respecting the independence of the prosecutor's office and the judiciary in general, to be provided with information to the extent legally prescribed and as such can be made available. On September 1, Kebo requested information from the Chief Prosecutor of the BiH Prosecutor's Office, Goran Salihović, on investigations into "political murders" in the cases of Jozo Leutar, Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs of FBiH, who was assassinated on March 16, 1999, Nedžad Ugljen, former Assistant Director of the Agency for Research and Documentation (AID), who was murdered on September 28, 1996, and Irfan Ljubijankić, a prominent Bosniak politician and doctor, murdered on May 28, 1995, when his helicopter was shot down.

- The reason for the request by the FBiH Vice President is the great public interest, as people are directly addressing him with the question: "Will we live in a state of law, or are the announcements of sanctioning politicians who have committed any criminal offenses empty talk or politicking and unequal treatment for all citizens?" - stated in Kebo's press release from September 1.

In addition to these murders, the murder of the family of the Army of RBiH General Sefer Halilović, his wife and her brother, on July 7, 1993, also remains unsolved, and it has been over a year since the BiH Prosecutor's Office took over this case from the Sarajevo Canton Prosecutor's Office.

Incidentally, in November last year, Kebo handed over confidential documentation on the Leutar, Ugljen, and Halilović cases to the BiH Ministry of Security, which was also forwarded to the BiH Prosecutor's Office.

However, it is evident that in an election year, the masterminds of these crimes do not wish for their names to be mentioned, as some are still in office today. As the Patria agency previously wrote, direct actors and political decision-makers and authorities from that period should and could speak about all these events, including Bakir Izetbegović, the current head of the BiH Presidency, who, according to his own statements, had significant influence on legitimate government structures and the judiciary at the time.

And while the BiH Prosecutor's Office has many questions regarding these crimes and their masterminds, they are focusing their efforts on actions in which, as they announced, "more than 75 people have been arrested in the past ten days in the fight against organized crime, war crimes, smuggling, and terrorism." It was not announced how many were released, writes Patria.

Yesterday's "Meso" operation, in which 11 people were arrested, is considered by the BiH Prosecutor's Office to be one of the largest in post-Dayton BiH, aimed at combating organized crime and tax evasion amounting to over 11 million KM.

It is undeniable, given that more than 75 people have been arrested in 10 days, that the BiH Prosecutor's Office and SIPA have the capacity to resolve even the most complex cases, and any action they have taken so far should certainly be welcomed. However, it is also evident that there is a certain selection of cases, and as is often heard in public, politics certainly has its fingers in the work of the judiciary.