A hearing was held today in the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina to extend the custody of Josip Barić, a police officer of the SC Ministry of the Interior, who was arrested for obstructing the investigation into the murder of Dženan Memić.

The Prosecutor of the Prosecutor's Office of B&H, Ćazim Hasanapashić, stated the reasons why he believes that the detention should be extended in order to efficiently and unhinderedly continue the investigation into the death of Dženan Memić who perished in February 2016.

As Prosecutor Hasanspahić said, from the testimony of the additional examination of witnesses, it can be concluded that Barić committed the criminal offenses he is charged with.

He quoted witness A. A. as a person employed at the Sarajevo Clinical Center, who stated that police officer Josip Barić did not remove the bloody sweater from Alisa Mutap and that Alisa Mutap was released that night because she was found to have minor bodily injuries and she took a bloody sweater with her.

- Why is Alisa Mutap's sweater was not excluded, maybe that is the key to the complete procedure and the resolution of everything. From the statements of witnesses and evidence, it follows that it is an organized planning and faking of evidence by those who need to protect citizens, which resulted in an investigation by the Prosecutor's Office of B&H - said Hasanspahić.

Prosecutor Hasanspahić also said that the central unit of a group of hotels whose video surveillance covered a key part of the Great Alley was exempted. Suddenly, the electricity went out and when the officers of the MUP of the Sarajevo Canton appeared, there was no recording.

- It is indisputable that the recordings were deleted. The Prosecutor's Office of B&H issued an order to SIPA in order to determine the manner and moment of deleting the recordings and possibly exporting the content. Shouldn't it have been determined earlier who deleted the recordings, if the MUP officer saw them - said the Prosecutor.

He added that there were fears of influencing witnesses, accomplices and detainees. The prosecutor announced that there will be more hearings in this case to order custody.

- The family has been fighting for the truth for five years, we must not send a message that this case will be uninvestigated. All the facts indicate that this is an atypical case and extraordinary circumstances due to which the public interest is great, and the work of the judiciary has been called into question - Hasanspahić believes.

Josip Barić's defense attorney, lawyer Kadrija Kolić, presented in detail the arguments for which he requests that Barić is released immediately with protective measures.

The defense pointed out that the Sarajevo Canton Prosecutor's Office suspended the investigation against Barić and other police officers in the "Dženan Memić" case in 2017. Kolić categorically established that there was no evidence that Barić had committed any crime.

Josip Barić also addressed the Council of the Court of B&H, pointing out that he could not take off Alisa Mutap at the KCUS in order to remove her clothes, but that he asked the nurse to take her clothes.

- I took the clothes that the nurse gave me - said Barić.

That night when everything happened, Barić pointed out, he did his job for which he was paid and for 18 years of work in traffic investigations, neither judges nor prosecutors ever had any objections to his work.

- Everything I did that night, I told the prosecutor everything. I said that maybe it was possible for something else to happen, to pay attention, so that no mistake would be made - Barić explained, adding that he and his wife became ill after the chase started, and that he had previously received the only support from Muriz Memić.

The hearing was attended by the victim's father and sister, Muriz and Arijana Memić, and lawyer Ifet Feraget.

The Court of B&H will make a decision later.