Prosecutor’s Office Opens Case on Alleged Existence of Russian Military Camps in Republika Srpska

Sarajevo (Photo: PrintScreen YouTube)

The Prosecutor’s Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina has opened a file on allegations by the Bosnian defense minister, Zukan Helez, that Russian-run military boot camps for paramilitaries existed in Republika Srpska.

“Following media allegations by the defense minister at the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Prosecutor’s Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Department for Terrorism, has opened a case file,” a spokesman for the Prosecutor’s Office, Boris Grubesic, confirmed for Sarajevo-based media outlets on Nov. 24. Grubesic said that the defense minister would be summoned to give a statement to the Bosnian prosecution, and present all of the information, evidence and facts that he possessed.

“We recall that all institutions, office holders and citizens are obligated by law to report to the authorities any knowledge of a criminal offence and the perpetrators,” Grubesic said. Helez had said earlier that “paramilitary camps, run by people from Russia, exist in the area of Rogatica and Maglic Mt.,” and that he possessed evidence to substantiate his allegations.

The head of the Rogatica municipality, Milorad Jagodic, denied the minister’s allegations that the military camps existed in his municipality, describing them as “lies that only a sick mind can invent.”