In order to abolish the possibility of buying out prison sentences of up to one year for those convicted of war crimes, which currently exists, victims and non-governmental organizations are once again calling for changes to the Criminal Code of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), while some legal experts believe that this would lead to discrimination and violation of human rightsof the convicted.
Suljo Kmetas meets the person for who he says mistreated him during his detention in the war camp almost every day. He was imprisoned in the Firehouse in Prozor, where an accomplice in the torture was Goran Pavkovic, who was sentenced to one year in prison, but he took advantage of the legal option and bought off that sentence, so in the end, he did not have to go to prison.
“For us it was an insult, humiliation and ridicule”, says Kmetasand adds that no amount of money can replace a prison sentence for war crimes and that this possibility should be abolished.
“Every criminal should serve time, that’s my opinion,” says Kmetas.
In July 2020, the United Nations (UN) Committee for the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, in its decision against BiH, among other things, asked the state to ensure the adoption of legislative measures that will prevent convicted perpetrators of war crimes from being exempted from sanctions, including reducing sentences and replacing prison terms withfines.
The organization TRIAL International, which deals with the protection of victims’ rights, reminds of that decision.
SDP representative Sasa Magazinovic sent the proposal for amendments to the Criminal Code of BiH, which would preventbuying out of prison sentences for those convicted of war crimes, to the Parliamentary Assembly. He says that lawyers dealing with criminal law have been working on the changes for years, with the support of victims’ associations.
The Court of BiH could not say how many persons who were convicted of war crimes submitted a request to replace the prison sentence with a fine because, as they said, they do not keep such records.
For the victims, by buying out the sentence, the meaning of punishment is lost. Goran Timotija, president of the Organization of Families of Captured and Killed Fighters and Missing Civilians of the Municipality of Trnovo in Republika Srpska (RS), believes that those who have money will be free, and those who are unable to pay off the prison sentence will be in prison.
“Let everyone respect the decision of the court that was made. It is humiliating for families to know that someone sentenced to a year in prison is walking the street because he has a few thousand BAM. I think the buying out prison sentences is the devastating practice in the judicial system,“ believes Timotija, Detektor reports.
E.Dz.
