BOSNIA - MILORAD BARASIN APPOINTED NEW STATE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SARAJEVO 000130 SIPDIS EUR/SCE (FOOKS, STINCHCOMB),INL (CARROLL),S/WCI (WILLIAMSON, VIBUL-JOLLES),INR (MORIN); NSC FOR HELGERSON; OSD FOR BEIN; DOJ FOR OPDAT (ALEXANDRE) E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/02/2019 TAGS: PGOV PREL PINR KAWC PHUM KCRM KDEM BK SUBJECT: BOSNIA - MILORAD BARASIN APPOINTED NEW STATE PROSECUTOR REF: A) 08 SARAJEVO 1803 B) SARAJEVO 77 Classified By: Michael J. Murphy for Reasons 1.4 (B) and (D) ¶1. (C) The High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council (HJPC) -- the state-level body responsible for the appointment, evaluation, and disciplining of judges, prosecutors, and other judicial staff nation-wide -- on January 28 appointed Milorad Barasin as State Prosecutor. Barasin, an ethnic Serb from Banja Luka, had been serving as Acting State Prosecutor since February of last year, when then State Prosecutor Marinko Jurcevic, an ethnic Croat who had obstructed the work of the institution, went on "sick leave." Although Barasin was widely considered the best qualified of the nine candidates vying for the position, his appointment was not assured given the intense behind-the-scenes lobbying by ethnic Croats to seat a Croat in the top slot, and the Republika Srpska (RS) government's rhetorical attacks against him and his staff. These attacks had intensified over the past six months as a result of the ongoing pre-investigation by the State Prosecutor's Special Department for Organized Crime (SDOC) into corruption in the RS related to RS government building and other contracts. The RS government had also filed a criminal complaint against Barasin and eight other individuals with the State Prosecutor's Office (Ref A) and a reported disciplinary complaint against Barasin with the HJPC in connection with this case. ¶2. (C) COMMENT: Barasin's appointment as Chief Prosecutor is a welcome development. In his 11 months as Acting Chief Prosecutor, Barasin turned in a strong performance: he did not buckle under RS pressure over the corruption investigation, gave the USG-funded heads of the Special Departments for War Crimes and Organized Crimes the latitude and support they need to do their job, and maintained excellent relations with us. For example, he sought technical assistance on terrorism cases of interest to us, heeded our advice to move terrorism cases from the underperforming General Crimes Department to the SDOC, and spearheaded the drafting of the National War Crimes Strategy (Ref B). This track record suggests that Barasin should continue to lead the State Prosecutor's Office in the direction we want, and in doing so, advance our state-building and rule of law agendas in Bosnia. Moreover, having a capable, talented Serb in the top slot helps counter allegations that state-level prosecutions are driven by a Bosniak political agenda and/or attempts by the international community "to get the RS" and its leaders. It is also noteworthy that the HJPC decided to select the best qualified candidate for the job even if meant having another ethnic Serb at the head of a state-level judicial body (the HJPC's President is also an ethnic Serb; the State Court President is a Bosniak) rather than give in to Croat pressure to appoint a Croat. The decision demonstrates the value of creating an independent HJPC and insulating appointments of judges and prosecutors from politics. ENGLISH