The verdict by which Vejsil Halilović was sentenced to three years in prison because he killed 19-year-old Ajla Nuhanović in a drunken and drugged car caused a strong public reaction in Tuzla and throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina. Family, friends and citizens protested, warning that this was a shamefully low sentence for the loss of a young life. An additional revolt was caused by the fact that Halilović was released, and that the Prosecutor’s Office of Tuzla Canton requested the detention order again only after pressure from the public.
The case of Ajla Nuhanović reopened a question that has been raised in Bosnia and Herzegovina for years: Why are the penalties for traffic accidents with pedestrian fatalities drastically different and in some cases many times higher?
Why is the sentence for Ajla Nuhanović three years?
In the case of Ajla Nuhanović, the court ruled only three years in prisonalthough it was determined that the driver was simultaneously under the influence of alcohol and narcotic drugs, circumstances that in the mentioned cases were the key reason for much stricter verdicts.
The cantonal court in Tuzla, which imposed this sentence, he justified himself by saying that he was guided by the practice of the Supreme Court of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina when deciding. According to this practice, in certain circumstances courts may impose lower sentences, taking into account a number of legal criteria and mitigating circumstances. However, such an explanation did not diminish public criticism, but also the fact that the same Supreme Court of FBiH in other similar cases confirmed much higher sentences. Also, aggravating circumstances were not taken into account – he was driving under the influence of alcohol and opiates, which adds weight to the whole case.
It is not the first case of a low sentence in TK
Municipal court in Tuzla in 2023, the first-instance verdict against Amar Mustedanagić. The appointed person was declared guilty of committing a criminal offense – Serious criminal offenses against public traffic safety and a criminal offense – Failure to provide assistance to a person injured in a traffic accident. He is in 2020 killed pedestrian Ismar Subašća (22) with a car in Tuzlaand drove away from the scene of the accident. He too met the verdict in freedom.
By the way, it’s earlier legally sentenced to two years for attempted murder and he served that prison sentence. The accident happened a month after his release. He was driving a vehicle owned by another person.
Verdicts in which the punishments were many times more severe
In FBiH jurisprudence, there are a number of cases in which drivers were convicted for the death of pedestrians long prison termsespecially when the accidents were committed under the influence of alcohol, drugs or with arrogant and violent driving. All this is taken as an aggravating circumstance.
One of the most famous cases happened in Sarajevo in 2016, when Edita Malkoč (20) and Selma Agić (21)female students, killed on crosswalk while their light was green. Driver Sanjin Sefićwho was driving at high speed, ran through a red light and fled the scene of the accident, he was sentenced to 17.5 years in prison in Sarajevo Cantonal Court.
A much stricter sentence was imposed in the case from Sarajevo in which Armin Berberović, drunk, drugged and without a driver’s licensekilled two young doctors with his car – Azru Spahić and Alma Suljicwho were pedestrians. Berberović was sentenced to 20 years in prisonone of the highest sentences imposed in BiH for a traffic crime with a fatal outcome. He pronounced the verdict Sarajevo Cantonal Court.
Cantonal Court in Sarajevo has condemned Naser Palislamovićand the verdict was confirmed by the Supreme Court of FBiH, which sentenced to 9 years in prison due to a serious traffic accident in Hadžići, in which he was driving a car killed pedestrian Salko Ejubović. He was also given a security measure, which prohibits him from driving B-category vehicles for five years, which will run after the sentence is served.
Why is it different in Tuzla?
In the case of Ajla Nuhanović, the court imposed a sentence of three years in prisonalthough it was indisputably established that the driver was and under the influence of alcohol and narcotic drugs. These very circumstances were the basis for the other cases significantly stricter sanctions.
The question arises whether judicial practice in BiH is applied unequally, whether the life of a young person in Tuzla is valued differently than in Sarajevo, East Sarajevo or other cities, and what message does this verdict send to the victims’ families and the public?
The protests in Tuzla were not just a reaction to a verdict, but an expression of broader dissatisfaction with the system in which for the death of a pedestrian, they sometimes impose decades of imprisonment, and sometimes only three years.
In a society where pedestrians are among the most vulnerable road users, this uneven practice further undermines confidence in the judiciary and leaves victims’ families feeling that justice is not equal for all.
The case of Ajla Nuhanović thus became a symbol of questions to which the institutions have not yet given a clear answer – How much is one human life really worth in Bosnia and Herzegovina?
(TYPE/Source: N1/Photo: Archive)
