PRISON SENTENCES FOR THE ACCUSED IN THE SKY CASE FOR THE CRIMINAL OFFENCE OF CORRUPTION

The accused in the case codenamed ‘Thorn’, in which evidence was obtained from the decrypted SKY and Anom applications, after reviewing the prosecution’s evidence in the presence of their defence attorneys, signed their respective guilty plea agreements and fully admitted the responsibility for the criminal offences alleged against them in the indictment of the BiH Prosecutor’s Office, after which they were convicted in the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

In accordance with the agreements, the following sentences were proposed for the accused:

-           Nedeljko Lubura, born in 1975, who at the time of commission of the criminal offences was employed with the Republika Srpska Ministry of Internal Affairs, citizen of BiH, a two-year prison sentence, and

-           Bojan Roguljić, born in 1981 in Banja Luka, citizen of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Republic of Serbia, a one-year prison sentence and a secondary fine in the amount of BAM 10,000, which the accused is obliged to pay within three months after the judgment of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina becomes final and binding.

Nedeljko Lubura was found guilty of the criminal offence of Smuggling of persons in violation of Article 189 of the Criminal Code of BiH and the Abuse of office or official authority in violation of Article 315 of the Republika Srpska Criminal Code, whereas the accused Bojan Roguljić was found guilty of the criminal offence of Smuggling of persons in violation of Article 189 of the Criminal Code of BiH.

The accused pleaded guilty to having illegally transported M.I., who was in Slovenia and for whom they knew that an Interpol warrant had been issued after him at the request of law enforcement agencies in Montenegro as a suspect for the criminal offence of attempted murder, across the state border to Bosnia and Herzegovina in late 2020. At the time of commission of the criminal offences, the first accused was a high-ranking inspector of the Republika Srpska Ministry of Internal Affairs, from where he was dismissed following the procedure conducted in that police agency.

The proposed sentences are adequate to the roles and responsibilities of the accused in the commission of the crimes.

By signing the agreement, the accused waive their right to a trial and may not file an appeal against the criminal sanctions.

After considering the agreements, the Court of BiH accepted them, the accused were sentenced to the above-mentioned sentences and the case was concluded by a final and binding judgment without conducting court proceedings and the main trial.

This is the third pleading of guilt by agreement in cases with the evidence obtained from the SKY and Anom applications. In the three cases, a total of fifteen accused admitted their guilt so far, two of whom were former members of police agencies.