Bosnia: URE foundation demands justice in Adamovic case

CURE Foundation and BH Dani news magazine, with support of great many organizations, held a protest in front of the Cantonal Court in Sarajevo, on December 18, against the decision of the Court in the second level of jurisdiction exonerating Vlado Adamovic from the charges of violation of the Law on Gender Equality.

On March 8, 2007, Vlado Adamovic, Judge of the B&H Court, was found guilty by the Municipal Court in Sarajevo, on charges sexual harassment of 18-year old S. ?., at her workplace in a florist shop in Grbavica. Nine months later, the Chamber consisting of judges Katarina Tomic, Dzenana Latic and Jasmina Kosovic, revoked the sentence on grounds that Adamovic couln?t have committed sexual harassment because he is not directly superior to his victim in terms of a vertical workplace hierarchy.

The Court thus legalized sexual discrimination and made the unjustified immunity from prosecution for holders of judicial and political positions of power official, say the organizers of the protest.

This protest wants to present the message that, regardless if one is judge or president of the country, if one broke the law or perpetrated violent actions, he/she deserves the legal sanctions, not awards. We want underline that the Law is for us, not against us and that there is no division into important and less important people by the Law.

The organizers note that the BiH practice is such that perpetrators of violent offences are rewarded, not sanctioned. It is possible, then, for Adamovic, in spite of the indisputable fact of his sexual assault on S.?., to receive his salaries for the period he wasn?t working, being suspended during the investigation and court procedure. Also, he will likely be allowed to return to his office like nothing happened.

This case illustrates that, even if we dare report the thug and want to trust the system, there is an offence and a sentence that does prove there are more and less important people, i.e. that people in power do have a bit more rights than the common citizens. That is the message sent by the judges of the Cantonal Court and their ruling in Adamovic case.

We want to publicly refuse to accept such a treatment for women in B&H. After all she had to go through, S.?. was left without justice and legal support, in spite of the fact that there is no shadow of a doubt that she was harassed.

Video clips with demands presented by the protests, and the overall atmosphere in front of the Cantonal Court are available on YouTube.com, at http://youtube.com/taigrrl.

For more details on Adamovic case, see the online archives of BH Dani magazine (www.bhdani.com).