Nermin Keranović – Contact Person at the Sarajevo Canton Prosecutor’s Office for LGBTI Persons who are Victims of Hate Crimes

Since 2013, within the framework of various projects and activities, SOC has been working on the education of representatives of the entire judicial chain because we believe that increasing the knowledge of legal professionals will lead to an increase in the effectiveness of the existing legal mechanism for the protection of the human rights of LGBTI persons, as well as members of other minority groups. Aware of the low level of trust of LGBTI people in legal institutions (almost 74% of LGBTI people say that they have no confidence in the judiciary), we are persistently working to familiarize legal professionals with the problems and needs of LGBTI people in BiH, and to establish cooperation with institutions and individuals who will be of assistance to LGBTI people available when they need legal support.

One of the most important results of our work is the appointment of contact persons, prosecutors, who are available to LGBTI persons who are victims of crimes committed out of hatred based on sexual orientation/gender identity. Nermin Keranović is one of them – he is a cantonal prosecutor in the Sarajevo Canton Prosecutor’s Office and he’s available to all LGBTI people in SC as the first instance in cases of crimes committed out of hatred. Prosecutor Keranović has been a contact person since 2022, when he succeeded a colleague who was previously a contact person in this prosecution.

We talked with prosecutor Keranović about the importance of education on LGBTI topics and his appointment as a contact person.

SOC: Did the Cantonal Prosecutor’s Office of Sarajevo Canton previously work on cases of criminal offenses committed out of prejudice based on sexual orientation and/or gender identity?

Nermin Keranović: Yes, the Cantonal Prosecutor’s Office of the Canton of Sarajevo has previously prosecuted criminal offenses committed on prejudicial grounds and is one of the first Prosecutor’s Offices in Bosnia and Herzegovina to appoint a contact person for cooperation with the Sarajevo Open Centre and to respond to calls for special training for holders of judicial function to get to know the LGBTQ+ community in Bosnia and Herzegovina to build mutual trust.

SOC: Do you think that legal experts in Bosnia and Herzegovina are sufficiently educated on LGBTI issues?

Nermin Keranović: Yes, I believe that the long-term cooperation with the Sarajevo Open Centre as well as the constant support of international partners contributed to a better understanding of the special features of this minority protected population, which rests on stereotypes rooted in our society and the fact that up until the Pride March, and largely after, in question a separate community that shyly clings to the edges of society except for those rare moments of togetherness and open opportunities for all well-intentioned people to get to know them, including legal experts. The previous investments and advocacy of the Sarajevo Open Centre, as well as friends from the international community and the Centre for the Education of Judges and Prosecutors at the FBIH resulted in the creation of a knowledge base on LGBTQ+ topics that is widely available to all who need it.

SOC: Have you attended training on hate crimes against LGBTI people, and if so, were they useful for you and your colleagues?

Nermin Keranović: Yes, the first education that I was sent to as a Cantonal Prosecutor after joining the office was organized by the Centre for the Education of Judges and Prosecutors of the FBiH and the Sarajevo Open Centre on the topic of hate crimes, and I am aware that it was one of the particularly positive experiences. Through the multi-day education of the Sarajevo Open Centre, my colleagues and I had the opportunity to meet members of the community, they told stories about violence and prejudice, the difficulty of growing up and living in four walls, which made a strong impression on us.

SOC: Do you think it is important that there are contact persons in prosecutor’s offices who are available to LGBTI people to receive reports and incidents and crimes committed out of hatred towards LGBTI people?

Nermin Keranović: It is very important that all citizens of Sarajevo Canton receive criminal-legal protection by the European standards that we strive for, and the essence of which is the equal right of every human being to enjoy the basics of human freedom in peace. The Prosecutor’s Office of the Canton of Sarajevo does not differentiate about any protected characteristic of minority communities or criminal acts based on prejudice and hatred and allows everyone to file a report in the same way, with the same right of access. The contact person does not receive special reports or communicate directly with the members LGBTQ+ communities, but with the associations that represent them and through legal aid, primarily from the Sarajevo Open Centre, helps to realize that right and at the same time monitors cases against members of the community based on reports from the Sarajevo Open Centre or formed ex officio, and makes proposals in this regard to the Chief Cantonal Prosecutor, but certainly respecting the freedom and rights with those items in charge of prosecutors to make an independent and final prosecutorial decision based on facts and laws. In this sense, it is very important to point out as a positive example that at the end of 2023, through the Sarajevo Open Centre, I, as the contact person of the Prosecutor’s Office of the Canton of Sarajevo, received information about a large number of attacks on members of the community that occurred after a previous acquaintance through the dating application “Grindr”, among which there was a significant number of foreign nationals, and after what knowledge the allegations were checked and what case I was in charge of, and under the direct supervision of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Canton of Sarajevo, the perpetrators were discovered, and an indictment was effectively brought against them, which was confirmed before the Municipal Court in Sarajevo. This is a concrete result of the institutional work and connection with the Sarajevo Open Centre, which resulted in an increase in the community’s trust in the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Canton of Sarajevo, primarily in the Novi Grad Police Department, whose employees made significant efforts and showed and proved again and again what phenomenal human capacities our police – the judicial system has, who do their job honorably, quietly and in challenging circumstances. This is a case in which the Prosecutor’s Office of Sarajevo Canton has undoubtedly stood behind all its promises of equal and efficient treatment in cases in which the weaker in our society and for which the perpetrators assume that they are being exploited without protection. I believe that in this sense, the system as a whole in Sarajevo Canton, from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Prosecutor’s Office and the Municipal Court in Sarajevo, worked together with the common goal of realizing the promise of the rule of law and demonstrated its effectiveness in the best way for the benefit of the citizens of Sarajevo Canton. This is especially important considering that with these criminal acts, targeted attacks on members of the LGBTQ+ community and LGBTQ+ tourists have damaged the image of Sarajevo as our city and the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina as an open and tourist-friendly safe place where all well-meaning visitors are welcome.

SOC: What do you recommend to LGBTI people in BiH if they experience violence or some other criminal offense based on their sexual orientation and/or gender identity?

Nermin Keranović: First of all, to persevere in protecting their rights, because that is how they fight and advocate for the rights of all citizens. Contact the competent police department and report the crime, and after that or immediately before, contact the legal advice office of the Sarajevo Open Centre or another non-governmental organization you trust. In any case, to the extent that it is possible, document the violence to hand over this evidence to the authorities and do not lose faith in the system if you do not immediately meet someone who would understand all the circumstances of the case, but insist on professional and equal professional treatment by the police official. If such treatment were to be absent in the event of an immediate crime against you, you always have the option to contact the Cantonal Prosecutor on duty at the Prosecutor’s Office or through the Sarajevo Open Center contact the Cantonal Prosecutor for the LGBTI population.

SOC: What can people who turn to you as a contact for the Cantonal Prosecutor in the case of a criminal offense expect?

Nermin Keranović: Above all, by the role I have in that capacity, which is limited, mediating communication with the case in charge of the acting Cantonal Prosecutor, I establish in cooperation with the Sarajevo Open Centre the existence of special circumstances that might justify assigning the case to a prosecutor who has additional expertise for working on criminal acts committed out of hatred or forming a case with which I would be in charge, in which case the injured parties can, like every citizen, expect my professional maximum by the legal powers entrusted to me by the Law on Criminal Procedure of the FBiH to detect a criminal offense and find the suspect and criminal prosecution.

Prosecutor Keranović can be reached via the e-mail address [email protected]