The terrible case that happened in the area of Tuzla Canton in the period from last year, and also during this year, where two minors were pimped into prostitution, continues to shock the public.
After months of investigation, it was finally revealed who the suspects were and how it happened. However, where did the government fail? Can we trust the police?
In this case, according to the knowledge of the portal “Avaza” other police officers who used the sexual services of minors are also mentioned. However, why were they not suspected or arrested?
We talked about this topic with academician prof. dr. Nedžad Korajlić, employed at CEPS-Kiseljak, manager of security studies.
– Cases of sexual exploitation and pimping of minors, especially when they are connected to persons from the security system, represent one of the most serious violations of professional, moral and legal responsibility. In such circumstances, any suspicion must be investigated quickly, thoroughly and impartially, because the prolonged silence of the institutions and the slow investigation directly undermine citizens’ trust in the judicial and police system. The reasons for the length of investigations often lie in the complexity of the evidence, the need to protect the identity of the victims and to obtain material and digital traces that confirm the chain of responsibility. However, if the investigation takes an inappropriately long time without clear results, it raises the suspicion of institutional resistance, lack of courage or political influence on the process. If some police officers used the sexual services of minors, they cannot be treated only as disciplinary offenders, but as perpetrators of serious crimes — specifically exploitation of children for the purpose of pornography, pimping or mediation in prostitution, and sexual relations with a child, which are all incriminations from the Criminal Code of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina – emphasizes academician Prof. Dr. Korajlić.
He added that in this context, their responsibility is not only personal, but also institutional, because it compromises the reputation of the police as the bearer of the protection of public morals and rights.
The public expects transparency
– The question of the identity of suspected police officers must be treated in accordance with the law — to protect the investigation and the rights of the victims. However, the public rightly expects transparency after indictments, because hiding responsibility in the name of professional loyalty sets a dangerous precedent and further fosters mistrust. Unfortunately, such cases deeply shake society because they attack the fundamental principle of trust in institutions – he pointed out.
He said that the police authorities must show that they are not above the law, but the first under it.
– Only through internal lustration, consistent ethical control and public responsibility is it possible to restore citizens’ faith in the police as a protector, not a potential participant in crime – concluded academician Prof. Dr. Korajlić.
Arrested Sarajevo policemen
To make matters worse, the public was shaken by the case from the Sarajevo Canton, when two police officers of the MUP Police Department of the Sarajevo Canton were arrested over the weekend. One is charged with the criminal offense of sexual harassment, and the other with the criminal offense of sexual abuse of a child over 15 years old.
The Prosecutor’s Office of the Canton of Sarajevo announced that, after the victim’s statement given to the prosecuting attorney, the interrogation at the KS Ministry of Internal Affairs and the collected evidence, one of the police officers was dismissed from this police agency because no grounds for suspecting that he participated in incriminating actions were established.
As stated, police officer Amar Turčalo was handed over to the jurisdiction of the KS Cantonal Prosecutor’s Office on suspicion of having committed the criminal offense of sexual abuse of a minor.
– Turčalo is suspected of having sexual relations with a minor in October of this year – the Sarajevo Canton Prosecutor’s Office announced.
