The Plea Agreement with the Prosecutor of the Special Department for Organized Crime, Economic Crime and Corruption of the Prosecutor’s Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina has been entered into by the accused Ratko Filipić, born on 10 June 1967 in Šekovići, where he also resides, a citizen of Bosnia and Herzegovina, who is accused of the continued criminal offense of Organizing a Group or an Association for the Purpose of Perpetration of the Criminal Offenses of Trafficking in Persons and Smuggling of Migrants, as referred to in Article 189a, Paragraph 2 of the Criminal Code of Bosnia and Herzegovina, as read with Article 54 of the Criminal Code of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in conjunction with the criminal offense of Smuggling of Persons, as referred to in Article 189, Paragraph 1 of the Criminal Code of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The accused, as a member of a group for organized crime, is charged with organizing and participating in the transportation across the state border of migrants who did not have valid travel documents to move or cross the state border, in the period from 26 February 2013 to 16 April 2013, in the territories of the municipalities of Bijeljina and Ljubuški, all of which is in violation of the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and contrary to Article 6 of the Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air.

The Prosecutor and the Defense agree that, pursuant to this Plea Agreement, the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina impose a sentence of imprisonment for a term of two (2) years on the accused Ratko Filipić, and at the same time determine that it will not be executed if this accused person does not commit another criminal offense over a period of five (5) years, as well as that a fine in the amount of twelve (12) thousand Bosnian Marks (BAM) be imposed on him as an accessory punishment, which Ratko Filipić is obliged to pay within six (6) months from the date when this Verdict becomes final.

By virtue of signing the Plea Agreement, the accused Ratko Filipić has fully admitted the commission of the criminal offense he is charged with by the Indictment of the Prosecutor’s Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina dated 31 December 2013, which was confirmed in its entirety by a Preliminary Hearing Judge of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, on 07 January 2014.

The proposed sentence is consistent with the role of the accused in the commission of the criminal offense described in the Indictment.  

With this Plea Agreement, this accused person has confirmed to be familiar with the content of the Indictment of the Prosecutor’s Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina. At the same time, he has confirmed to have entered his plea of guilty voluntarily, consciously and with understanding and he has taken upon himself an obligation to bear the expenses of the criminal proceedings in the amount which may be determined by the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Moreover, by signing this Plea Agreement, the accused Ratko Filipić has committed himself to testifying on all the facts known to him in this criminal case and on all the perpetrators or members of the group for organized crime known to him, which also represents a change in the factual description of the Indictment. 

By signing this Plea Agreement, this accused person has waived his right to a trial and right to appeal to the criminal sanction imposed upon him by the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina on the basis of this Plea Agreement. 

The Prosecutor’s Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina, together with police agencies in our country and in the region, continues its activities in the fight against illegal migrations across the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which represents an important segment in the establishment of the rule of law and in the process of our country’s European integrations.

The Plea Agreement has been forwarded to the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina.