Miodrag Mitrasinovic escaped from the hospital in Foca three months ago, after he was sentenced to 13 years in prison for war crimes. He met the verdict in this health facility in the east of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). After that, the Court of BiHordered the issuing of a warrant.
Although cameras record every trial, including his, the Court of BiH told Radio Free Europe (RSE) that they do not have Mitrasinovic‘s photo.
There was a similar response from the State Investigation and Protection Agency (SIPA): “I’m not sure that SIPA has that document,” Jelena Miovcic, SIPA’s spokesperson, told.
When asked why they do not publish photos of wanted persons, SIPA replied that they can only provide the data to competent institutions.
Entity Ministries of Internal Affairs of Canton Sarajevo (CS), and the state Directorate for the Coordination of Police Bodies did not explain why a large number of warrants do not have a photo.
How difficult is it to search for people due to the lack of photos?
“If they have a warrant, they must also have a photo. That is certainly an oversight,” noted Nedzad Korajlic, former dean of the Faculty of Criminal Justice, Criminology, and Security Studies at the University of Sarajevo.
Secret warrants
“Most warrants are available, but some have a certain secrecy in some cases, especially for high-risk persons such as those involved in drug crimes and war crimes,” said Sandi Dizdarevic, security expert.
According to the data of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Mission in BiH, the unavailability of defendants complicates almost 40 percent of trials for war crimes in BiH.
