With regard to media reports and the false image created in the public, as well as multiple individual media inquiries, in order to provide proper information to the public, the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina hereby issues the following Public Statement:
On 9 August 2021 the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina issued a Decision terminating the prohibitive measures previously imposed on the accused Milomir Savčić, while granting the Motion filed by the Prosecutor's Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina to order the accused into pre-trial custody under Article 126.f(2) CPC BiH on account of his failure to comply with the prohibitive measures imposed under Article 126.a(1)c) CPC BIH.
During the previous course of the proceedings, upon the Motion filed by the BiH Prosecutor's Office, under Court’s Decision No. S1 1 K 034456 20 Kv of 7 February 2020, and the Court’s amended Decision No. S1 1 K 034456 20 Kri of 30 March 2020, apart from the breached prohibitive measure under Article 126.a(1)c) CPC BiH, the following prohibitive measure was also imposed on the accused Milomir Savčić: ban on leaving the place of residence and the travel ban under Article 126, Paragraphs 1 and 2, CPC BiH; for the purpose of implementing the above ban, the accused’s movement is restricted to the territory of the State of Bosnia and Herzegovina, including the seizure of all travel documents, or passports, of the State of Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as travel documents of Serbia and IDs, as well as the ban on issuance of new passports and the use of ID to cross the state border. All the foregoing measures were still in force at the time when the custody hearing was being held upon the Motion filed by the BiH Prosecutor's Office on 9 August 2021.
The BiH Prosecutor's Office filed with the Court a Motion to order pre-trial custody on the statutory grounds referred to in Article 132(1)b) CPC BiH, namely due to the fear that he will destroy, conceal, alter or falsify evidence or clues relevant to criminal proceedings, and the particular circumstances indicating that he will hinder the criminal proceedings by interfering with witnesses, accessories or accomplices, on the custody grounds referred to in Article 132(1)b) CPC BiH. The Court reiterates that the Prosecutor’s Office of BiH did not move the Court to order pre-trial custody due to the flight risk, nor did the Court receive evidence pointing to such a risk. As a result, the Court did not detain the accused after the hearing, pending Court’s decision.
The Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina reminds the public of its role defined in the Criminal Procedure Code of BiH, namely that the Prosecutor’s Office of BiH is the only body in charge of criminal prosecution, and that in ruling on custody the Court is bound by the motion, reasoning and evidence submitted by the Prosecutor’s Office.