Munib Halilovic, a former BiH prosecutor who is on trial for failing to prosecute a major war crimes case, has said that his punishment would send “a dangerous message” to other prosecutor. According to Halilovic, he was following the guidance of the BiH war crimes strategy by prioritizing complex cases over simple ones, neglecting to pursue the case at issue. He expressed concern that if he is found guilty of misconduct, other prosecutors will be pressured to work on simple, easily-closed cases instead of complex ones.
“At the start of this proceeding I thought this was a mistake that the disciplinary prosecutor did not know why some cases are prioritized. However, his persistence tells me that someone wants to send a dangerous message… that someone wants all cases treated as equal, which means every prosecutor will be able to pick simpler cases,” said Halilovic.
Before the closing arguments, former chief prosecutor Milorad Barasin testified for Halilovic and confirmed that state-level prosecutors were asked to deal with the most complex and sensitive cases and not with the simpler ones.
“I remember the indictments that Halilovic raised for Kalinovik and Nevesinje. Those were very sensitive cases and difficult ones. They were for ‘command responsibility’ and a ‘joint criminal enterprise’. At one time he worked alone and had no assistant,” said Barasin.
