REMAND IN CUSTODY IS REQUESTED DUE TO RISK OF FLIGHT AND THE RISK OF ANXIETY AMONG THE VICTIM POPULATION AND LOCAL COMMUNITIES
Prosecutor of the Special Department for War Crimes filed a motion to the Court of BiH to remand 10 persons whose sentence serving was interrupted by the Court of BiH pursuant to the decision of the Constitutional Court of BiH.
Remand in custody was requested pursuant to the grounds stipulated under Article 132, Subparagraphs a) and d) of the CPC BiH i.e. due to the risk of flight and concealment of persons who were legally proven guilty and due to risk of anxiety among the victim population, returnees and citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina in general, as those persons who were found guilty for, inter alia, criminal offenses of genocide and participation in mass executions of more than 1,000 victims are now out and about.
International Community and the ICTY Office of the Prosecutor have also expressed their concerns about the decision to release validly convicted persons from prison.
The Prosecutor's Office of BiH is not satisfied with the decision of the Constitutional Court, which puts the Prosecutor's Office in a position of being unable to effectively prosecute war criminals.
This situation will have a negative impact on the pace of the prosecution of war crimes because prosecutors will be overburdened with the work in these cases.
For all these reasons, and especially in the interest of protecting justice and the dignity of war crimes victims, the Prosecutor's Office filed a motion for remand in custody.