CHIEF PROSECUTOR GORAN SALIHOVIC MET CHIEF PROSECUTOR SERGE BRAMMERTZ. CHIEF PROSECUTOR BRAMMERTZ NOTED THAT SIGNIFICANT PROGRESS WAS MADE IN PROSECUTION OF CATEGORY 2 CASES

Goran Salihovic, Chief Prosecutor of the Prosecutor’s Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and other prosecutors and professional staff from the Special Department for War Crimes met with Serge Brammertz, Chief Prosecutor of the ICTY OTP, and his associates.

Chief Prosecutor Salihovic acquainted the officials from the OTP in The Hague with the substantial progress the Prosecutor’s Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina made in prosecuting Category 2 cases, namely the cases in which the ICTY OTP initiated respective investigations and which were then, as cases in the investigation stage, transferred to the Prosecutor’s Office for further processing.

These are extensive and complex cases and, given that the investigations in them were initiated in The Hague, suspects in these cases are mostly persons who discharged mid-level command functions in the military, police and political structures that were active during the war in Bosnia.

Recognizing the importance of processing these cases, Chief Prosecutor Salihovic has ordered expedient action taking and issuance of prosecutorial decisions. Good results in the prosecution of these cases are visible, as ten Category 2 cases have been completed thus far, thirteen cases are at investigation or criminal report stages and five cases are at trial or appellate stages. In addition, Chief Prosecutor Salihović has acquainted his colleagues from The Hague with the activities that will be undertaken soon and which are aimed at speeding up the work and the issuance of prosecutorial decisions.

Chief Prosecutor Brammertz stressed out that the progress in work on these cases was visible and again expressed the support of the ICTY OTP to colleagues in the Prosecutor’s Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina in prosecuting Category 2 cases and other cases dealt with by the Prosecutor’s Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Moreover, Chief Prosecutor Brammertz supported the regional cooperation among Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Croatia and Montenegro under the Protocol on Cooperation and noted that the Prosecutor’s Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina was a key link in strengthening regional cooperation.

The regional cooperation is of extreme importance for work on Category 2 cases, as some of the suspects and defendants are outside the borders of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

In today’s meeting, there was also discussion about future cooperation between the two Prosecutor’s Offices, which have been maintaining good and professional cooperation for more than a decade, as the mission of both institutions is combating impunity and establishing the rule of law, as well as working on building up peace and reconciliation in Bosnia and Herzegovina and in the region.