CHIEF PROSECUTOR MET WITH THE REPRESENTATIVES OF THE MUNICIPAL ORGANIZATION OF THE FAMILIES OF CAPTURED AND KILLED SOLDIERS AND MISSING CIVILIANS OF THE RS FROM FOČA

Chief Prosecutor of the Prosecutor’s Office of BiH - Goran Salihović and the Heads of the Special Department for War Crimes met  with representatives of the families of captured and killed soldiers and missing civilians of the RS, from Foča and its surrounding area.

As cooperation with the war crimes victims is considered one of the priorities of the Prosecutor’s Office of BiH the Chief Prosecutor wanted to hear directly from the victims’ families about their expectations from the Prosecutor’s Office and the Special Department for War Crimes.

The Chief Prosecutor informed the representatives of victims’ associations that the Prosecutor’s office of BiH shall continue to intensify activities in the prosecution of war crimes in the future.

"The appointment of new prosecutors in the Prosecutor’s Office of BiH who will work on war crimes cases is expected to soon take place. We believe that this reinforcement in human resources and the relocation to a separate building with sufficient capacity to accommodate all employees is sure to improve the results in prosecution of war crimes."- stated Chief Prosecutor Salihović.

The Chief Prosecutor also pointed out that a number of activities related to exhumations and finding the remains of the missing persons will be taken in the coming years which is a very important part of work on war crimes cases.

At the meeting, the Chief Prosecutor informed the representatives of victims that the cooperation between Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Serbia, on the basis of the Protocol on cooperation, is going on very well and that the joint efforts of the judiciary in the region result in a more effective prosecution of war crimes, as the suspects no longer have any place to hide.

At the meeting the representatives of the victims had the opportunity to get information from the officials of the Special Department for War Crimes concerning the specific ongoing cases in the Prosecutor’s Office of BiH. Representatives of the victims from Foča were interested in cases related to the suffering of ethnic Serb victims in Foča villages: Jabuka and Jošanica.

Representatives of victims’ associations have handed over certain evidentiary material related to war crimes committed in that area to the Prosecutor’s Office of BiH.

The delegation of representatives of victims consisted of the following ladies:  Dana Muminović and Dušanka Lalović, as well as the following gentlemen: Milan Kulić, Milan Nikolić and Goran Mastilo.

The Chief Prosecutor emphasized that the cooperation with the victims will be a priority in the work of the Prosecutor’s Office of BiH and that cooperation will be developed with victims of war crimes of all ethnicities from all over Bosnia and Herzegovina.