Trust in BiH’s judiciary is at an all-time low, especially regarding the judiciary’s willingness to tackle corruption. The COVID-19 pandemic introduced an additional avenue for unscrupulous politicians to loot public funds intended for ensuring adequate healthcare for BiH citizens. State Prosecutors Mirza Hukeljic and Dzermin Pasic have refused to ignore the harm being inflicted on the people of this country by individuals engaged in high-level corruption and organized crime. These prosecutors have shouldered the enormous responsibility of trying some of the most significant public corruption trials ever undertaken in BiH. They have endured relentless attacks by the defendants and some media. They have persisted despite a lack of support and resources and the risk of retribution. They have done so because they understand the importance of defeating corruption and they stand as examples to all other prosecutors who must follow them to secure the future of democracy in BiH. We are proud to name Mirza Hukeljic and Dzermin Pasic the U.S. Embassy’s Heroes of the Month.
SPO Prosecutor Mirza Hukeljić
Mirza Hukeljić was born in Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina, in 1980. He graduated from Sarajevo University Faculty of Law in 2002 and earned his master’s degree from Sarajevo University Centre for Interdisciplinary Postgraduate Studies in 2005. He passed the bar exam in Sarajevo in 2006. Mr. Hukeljić earned his doctoral degree from Ljubljana University Faculty of Law in 2013.
In the period between 2003 and 2005, he worked as an intern at the Office of the High Representative (OHR). From 2005 to 2010 he was an expert associate and expert advisor at the Prosecutor’s Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina and in 2010 he was appointed Prosecutor of the District Prosecutor’s Office in East Sarajevo, where he was Head of War Crimes Department. He was appointed Prosecutor of the Prosecutor’s Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina and took office on December 1, 2013.
SPO Prosecutor Džermin Pašić
Džermin Pašić was born in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, on December 1, 1974. He graduated from Sarajevo University Faculty of Law in 2000 and passed the bar exam in 2003.
From 2000 he was employed at the Cantonal Prosecutor’s Office in Sarajevo. In 2007 he was appointed Prosecutor of the District Prosecutor’s Office in East Sarajevo. He was appointed Prosecutor of the Prosecutor’s Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina by a decision of the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council of Bosnia and Herzegovina dated November 20, 2013.
