BIH PROSECUTOR’S OFFICE PUTS FORWARD MOTION TO EXTEND CUSTODY FOR SUSPECT DARKO ELEZ (1980)

The Prosecutor in charge of the case has proposed a two-month extension of custody, on the same custody grounds as those for which custody had already been ordered, and for the purpose of an unhindered conduct of investigation.

The Prosecutor from the Special Department for Organized Crime, Economic Crime and Corruption has put forward a Motion with the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, seeking a two-month extension of custody to the suspect Darko Elez.

The aforementioned suspect was remanded in custody on 5 March, for the reasons stipulated in Article 132, paragraph 1, items a), b) and c) of the Criminal Procedure Code of Bosnia and Herzegovina, namely, due to the risk of flight and the danger that, if at large, he might hinder the investigation, conceal evidence and influence witnesses and accomplices, as well as the danger that, by remaining at large, he could commit a new criminal offense or finish the commenced offence.

The extension of custody measure has been requested for the purpose of continuing an unhindered investigation in this case, which the Prosecutor’s Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina is conducting together with the Republika Srpska Ministry of the Interior, the State Investigation and Protection Agency - SIPA, the Agency for Forensic and Expert Examinations, and other police and security agencies in Bosnia and Herzegovina and in the region, as part of the case of Belivuk, the Kavač Clan and others.

After the extradition of the suspect to Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Prosecutor’s Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina and its partner police and security agencies undertook a series of investigative activities, related to the suspect Elez and a larger number of persons related to him, and additional documentation was submitted together with the Motion for Custody, including the statements of a larger number of witnesses.

Furthermore, the extension of custody has been requested due to the reported threats and intimidation of witnesses in this case.

The Prosecutor’s Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina is conducting an investigation in relation to the suspect Darko Elez and several other persons, all of them suspected of the criminal offense of Organized Crime under Article 250 of the Criminal Code of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in conjunction with the criminal offenses of First Degree Murder under Article 125 of the Criminal Code of Republika Srpska, Conspiracy to Commit a Criminal Offense under Article 364 of the Criminal Code of Republika Srpska, Extortion under Article 232, paragraph 4, in conjunction with Article 22 of the Criminal Code of Republika Srpska and Endangering Safety under Article 150 of the Criminal Code of Republika Srpska.

The Motion to Extend Custody has been forwarded to the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina.