Bosnia's chief prosecutor was suspended from office on Wednesday, a move he dismissed as a plot to derail a sensitive investigation he was conducting into an illegal referendum in the Bosnian Serb region.
The country's judicial council said Goran Salihovic would be suspended while it looked into allegations he had obstructed inquiries and interfered with judges and prosecutors’ work, without giving details on which work had been obstructed.
Salihovic denied any wrong-doing and said the charges against him had been made up.
“I dismiss all allegations and nothing from that report is correct, all is fabricated. The reason for the report is that I opened an investigation against (Bosnian Serb leader) Milorad Dodik.”
The suspension came days after Salihovic summoned Dodik to answer questions on the leader's calling of an unauthorized referendum on whether the Serb region should celebrate a “Statehood Day” on Jan. 9.
Many Bosnians believe Dodik called the plebiscite to boost his popularity before elections, and also to test the ground for a possible vote on secession from Bosnia – an uneasy multi-ethnic federation of Serbs, Croats and Muslim Bosniaks that was pieced together in 1995 to end an ethnic war.
The judicial council said it had appointed an acting chief prosecutor to carry on his work, but declined to comment further on Salihovic's suspension, or his reaction. It had earlier said its investigation into him was based on media reports of unprofessional conduct by Salihovic.
(Reuters)