Brammertz discusses transfer of war crime cases from Bosnia to Croatia, Serbia

NEWS 28.10.201918:37
REUTERS/Michael Kooren

The chief prosecutor of the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (IRMCT), Serge Brammertz, and Bosnia and Herzegovina Chief State Prosecutor Gordana Tadic on Monday discussed the possibility for Bosnia and Herzegovina to start transferring to Croatia and Serbia cases involving former high-ranking officials so as to prevent their not answering for crimes committed during the 1990s wars.

The Office of the Chief State Prosecutor said in a statement the meeting focused on the prosecution of Category 2 cases which were transferred to Bosnia and Herzegovina by the Hague-based tribunal.

Those cases, the Office of the Chief State Prosecutor explained, are prosecuted after indictments are issued by the Office of the Chief State Prosecutor of Bosnia and Herzegovina but some of them cannot be prosecuted because the perpetrators are beyond the reach of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s authorities.

Brammertz and Tadic discussed the possibility of transferring Category 2 cases to Croatia and Serbia so that they could be prosecuted there under the supervision of the IRMCT due to the perpetrators’ being beyond the reach of Bosnia and Herzegovina authorities.

Also discussed at the talks was the transfer of some of the cases by the Office of the Chief State Prosecutor of Bosnia and Herzegovina to the judiciaries of the countries’ two entities as well as to Brcko District.