The Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) responded to journalists’ inquiry regarding the escape of convicted war criminal Miodrag Mitrasinovic from the hospital in Foca. On that occasion, they highlighted the details of this case. An international warrant has been issued for Mitrasinovic.
Mitrasinovic, Obrad and Novak Poluga, Petko Indjic, Radojica Ristic, Dragan Sekaric and Oliver Krsmanovic were sentenced to 13 years each in the first instance before the Court of BiH on October 21 for war crimes committed in Strpci in 1993. Luka Dragicevic was acquitted. In the Court of BiH, they stated that before the verdict was pronounced, they were informed that Mitrasinovic was in the hospital in Foca.
“Before the verdict was pronounced, the Prosecutor’s Office of BiH submitted to the Court of BiH a proposal for a detention measure, given that the accused were arrested on October 20thby order of the Prosecutor’s Office, except for Mitrasinovic, who, according to the Prosecutor’s Office, was being treated at a health facility in Foca where he was taken care of for surgery. This information was confirmed by Mitrasinovic‘s lawyer, MilosPeric, who informed the Court that his client is in the hospital in Foca, where he underwent surgery during the day, and that he is not mobile and that he does not know how long he will be kept in the hospital,” they pointed out.
They noted that Mitrasinovic and the other first-instance convicts were ordered to be detained after the sentencing. They pointed out the order they later passed, which referred to Mitrasinovic.
“After the sentencing and determination of the custody measure, the Court issued an order to the Institute for the Execution of Criminal Sanctions, Custody and Other Measures (ZIKS) of BiHto ensure that Mitrasinovic is detained in the hospital in Foca where, according to the information available to the Court at the time, was undergoing treatment and that after the treatment was completed, he should be taken to ZIKS Vojkovici in order to continue serving the measure of custody,” they claim in the Court of BiH.
As they stated, the state prison in Vojkovici informed the Court of BiH that Mitrasinovic was not in the hospital in Foca, considering that the Department of Surgery confirmed to them that he was discharged from further treatment on the same day. An order was then issued to the Judicial Police to immediately arrest Mitrasinovic.
“Immediately upon receiving this information, the Court issued an order to the Judicial Police to immediately arrest Mitrasinovic at his residence address and to take him to the appropriate penitentiary institution. At the same time, the Court issued an order to the Border Police to detain the accused Mitrasinovic, if he tries to cross the border, until of the arrival of the Court Police and to inform the Court about it without delay. The Court also informed the prosecuting prosecutor about all of the above. The Court Police informed the Court that they did not find Mitrasinovic when they arrived at the residence address. After receiving the above information, the Court issued an order to issue an international warrant,” it was explained.
The Court of BiH requested the hospital in Foca to provide official data on when Mitrasinovic was admitted for treatment, on what grounds he was hospitalized, i.e. whether he was operated on, as well as data regarding his discharge from treatment – the time of discharge and that whether it is a discharge based on the doctor’s recommendation or the patient’s voluntary decision. They pointed out that they have not received the requested information until this moment, Klix.ba reports.
E.Dz.
