A MEETING OF THE DELEGATIONS OF THE PROSECUTOR’S OFFICE OF BIH AND THE STATE ATTORNEY’S OFFICE OF THE REPUBLIC OF CROATIA AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL HELD IN SARAJEVO

In the framework of the signed Protocol on Cooperation in the prosecution of war crimes cases, a two-day meeting was held in Sarajevo yesterday and today, namely on 22^nd and 23^rd of July, between the delegations of the Prosecutor’s Office of BiH and the State Attorney’s Office of the Republic of Croatia, headed by Chief Prosecutors Goran Salihović and Mladen Bajić.  

At the meeting, cooperation in concrete war crimes cases and mutual assistance between these Prosecutor’s Offices were discussed, so that perpetrators of war crimes residing in the territory of BiH or Republic of Croatia could be brought to justice.

The meeting in Sarajevo represents a concretization of the activities, and concrete cases that could be subject to exchange of evidence for the purpose of efficient prosecution of war crimes perpetrators were discussed at this meeting.    

The Special Department for War Crimes of the Prosecutor’s Office of BiH is working on a large number of cases, and in some of them Indictments have been issued against persons who, according to the data available, are residing in the territory of the Republic of Croatia and have the citizenship of the Republic of Croatia, which hinders their prosecution in BiH.

The Chief Prosecutor of the Prosecutor’s Office of BiH and officials of the Special Department for War Crimes asked their Croatian colleagues for verification of the data and collected information on the whereabouts of the suspected and indicted persons, and concretization of the activities pertaining to the exchange of evidence and further prosecution of these persons is expected in the period to come.

This meeting and any future meetings that will be held in accordance with the signed Protocol on Cooperation demonstrate strong commitment of the respective Prosecutor’s Offices in BiH and the Republic of Croatia to detecting and prosecuting all war crimes perpetrators, regardless of their whereabouts, and contribute to the strengthening of the rule of law.