THE PROSECUTOR’S OFFICE OF BIH STRONGLY CONDEMNS ALLEGATIONS AND UNTRUE STATEMENTS OF JUDGE BRANKO PERIĆ, PRESENTED IN A COLUMN PUBLISHED IN THE ‘NEZAVISNE NOVINE’

The Prosecutor’s Office of BiH would hereby like to inform the citizens and the public that the allegations of Judge Branko Perić, presented in his column, are absolutely unfounded.

On several occasions, the Prosecutor’s Office of BiH has demonstrated and proven to the BiH public that it is absolutely devoid of any political influence, and that fact is precisely what bothers certain political elites because they cannot exert any influence whatsoever on the work of the Prosecutor’s Office of BiH. In all this, it is regrettable that some judicial officials, judges even, engage in certain political constructions and media attacks on institutions.   

As regards the statements about the alleged illegal tapping, we would hereby like to say to Judge Perić that a thorough investigation into this matter has shown that there was no tapping, and no illegal tapping in particular, of any person in the Prosecutor’s Office of BiH. 

The Prosecutor’s Office of BiH is in its full swing when it comes to prosecuting the most serious cases of war crimes, organized crime and corruption, as evidenced by media reports issued over the last several months and the Performance Report, as well as by results of the Prosecutor’s Office of BiH that have been the best results in the history of the Prosecutor’s Office of BiH in the past ten years of its existence. Obviously, many people are bothered by the strengthening of capacities and the activities of the Prosecutor’s Office of BiH, and Judge Branko Perić may as well be one of those people, as he would like the trials to be held in accordance with the principle of sham justice.   

We will resume our fight against all forms of crime in future, and no person will be untouchable. This is something that will probably not sit well with some political elites; however, the Prosecutor’s Office of BiH is absolutely independent in its work and it acts solely in the interest of its citizens.

In his column, Judge Perić used the media to express his legal position on certain active cases, and a judge is not permitted to do so.

The Prosecutor’s Office of BiH would like to tell the esteemed Judge Perić to mind his own business and stop making improper and unfounded comments and opinions regarding the Prosecutor’s Office of BiH; it is far more proper for him to engage in analyzing certain judicial standards in war crimes and corruption cases, as recent events have shown that they cause great damage to the rule of law process in Bosnia and Herzegovina.