The Silence of the Blue Wall: Can Activism Reveal the Silence of the Blue Wall?

Author: Milena Sosic (Belgrade, Serbia)

Introduction

The “blue wall of silence” – the phenomenon that police officers will not testify against each other in the cases of police brutality, extensive use of force, torture and similar situation - has its roots in an essential associational virtue, loyalty, which, in the context of friendship and family relations, is of crucial importance.¹ This rule has its basis among other issues its frequent corruption in the covering up of severe criminality and attempts to offer criteria for determining when to testify and when to respond in other ways to the faults of companion officers. Besides, behind the code of silence lies a legitimate interest in maintaining the integrity, value, and probably also the usefulness, of individual relationships. At some level, the blue wall of silence is of a piece with other associational expectations. Moreover, this also goes to the matter of its complexity.² It could be claimed that prosecutors are generally reluctant to bring charges against members of the police force, which is, after all, a cooperating state agency's personnel,³ while the judges may often be unwilling to disbelieve officers.⁴

Police officers in many jurisdictions benefit from a set of enhanced procedural protections. These often include provisions restricting the timing and manner by which investigators interview or interrogate police, commonly known as “interrogation safeguards." One particular safeguard is a compulsory period of delay between a use-of-force incident and subsequent investigation or interrogation. Such "delay privileges" have the expectable effect of hampering investigations, diminishing the likelihood that responsible officers are subject to an effective internal investigation. Thus, lawsuits against police departments are complicated to win, and it violates the positive obligation of duty bearers to carry out an effective investigation. Furthermore, it represents a violation of the duty to protect human rights and to take appropriate steps to safeguard the lives of those within its jurisdiction. It should be applied in the context of any activity, whether public or not, in which the right to life may be at stake.

“Justice for David”

On March 18, 2018, David Dragičević, a 21-year-old man, went missing in Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina. On March 24, his dead body was found. Police investigation ruled the death as an accident. According to the police findings, David was not killed but fell into River Crkvena, and on the same night, he had previously robbed a house in municipal community Lauš.⁵ In following days, surveillance camera footage in the centre of Banja Luka has appeared in public, showing four people intercepting David after two o'clock in the morning on March 18, 2018. It is a video that the police did not show and which contradicts the police claims about David's movement. These findings were contradictory to the police official ruling.

Dragičević's parents claimed that their son was brutally murdered and that the police and prosecutor's office are trying to cover-up the case. The result of the police investigation provoked significant public disturbance, and many mass protests were organized, demanding the truth and justice. The public was overwhelmingly convinced that David was murdered.⁶

David's death triggered daily protests in Banja Luka from the day his body was found. It followed a massive protest in Sarajevo, Zenica and Tuzla. On October 5, 2018, a massive protest was organized in Banja Luka with over 40.000 attendees (30.000 people more than in previous gatherings) in this huge event.⁷ Furthermore, through the years, the protests have been come wider and internationally recognized, due to the active role of David father. David’s father publicly accused the top of the Republika Srpska (RS) Ministry of the Interior was behind the organization of the murder and the execution of David Dragicevic. According to his claims, the former head of the RS Criminal Police, Siniša Kostređević, has knowledge who killed David Dragičević, and for that reason, he has been incited to make accusation public. He also pointed out that there are recordings from the night of March 18, when David disappeared, which shows him being beaten by a group of young men.⁸ Taking into consideration the weight of accusation David’s father had to flee Republika Srpska. Apart from the clearly demands justice, effective and fair investigation, activists urged the international community to intervene and to get involved.⁹

In 2019 the RS Ministry of the Interior had banned all public gatherings of the group "Justice for David", which held gatherings on Krajina Square in Banja Luka every day from March 26 to December 30, and criminal charges were filed against Davor Dragicevic for "calling for a violent change in the constitutional order of Republika Srpska".¹⁰ The ban of the peaceful assembly has been continued in 2020, and some members have been arrested.¹¹ It could be claimed that this was a reaction of the authorities to reduce the public space for peaceful assembly as the main pillar of a democratic society and fundamental human right that is typical for an ethnocratic regime of Republika Srpska. The main characteristics and purpose of this type of regime are to keep public concerns framed exclusively in ethnic terms supported by the more comprehensive ideological mechanism of control and discipline.¹² The breaches of the fundamental rights of citizens represent a typical measure of oppressive political power and hegemony of the ruling class in Republika Srpska. It should be acknowledged that deterioration of the democratic values and the rule of law in Republika Srpska has been condemned by the international community. For instance, Delegation of the European Union to Bosnia and Herzegovina has condemned the lack of the rule of law and impunity in BiH.¹³ Following the incident of a brutal attack on the journalist by the unknown perpetrator(s). Thus, freedom of media and objective journalism has been seriously jeopardized in this case. This incident has been condemned by OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina.¹⁴

Although the National Assembly of the Republika Srpska formed the Inquiry Committee in order to review all relevant facts in connection with the case of the death of David Dragicevic, the main conclusions have not been adopted. Firstly, the conclusion to dismiss the Minister of the Interior, Dragan Lukac, was not adopted. Secondly, the conclusion requiring the Banja Luka District Public Prosecutor's Office to hold Lukac, the director of the police, the head of the Organized Crime Directorate and a pathologist accountable in accordance with the Criminal Code if it is proven that they acted unprofessionally or concealed certain evidence, as well as other opposition conclusions, was not adopted. Thirdly, the conclusion of the Security Committee, by which the National Assembly instructs this committee to conduct parliamentary oversight within the investigation into the death of David Dragicevic, was not adopted either.¹⁵ Thus, the lack of above – mentioned conclusions of Inquiry Committee testifies how hidden and vicious this circle can be.

In ethnically divided societies affected by the conflict in the past is challenging to establish mutual grounds for the citizens to move forward and to abandon genuinely rooted patterns and safe ethnic narratives. Consequently, it is difficult to engage citizens in mutual public disobedience actions that will have for its goals a request for accountability and responsibility of the ethnic political elites. However, the present case provides us with a positive response that civic disobedience is possible in the ethnically divided society of BiH when the justice and main democratic values are jeopardized. Moreover, the protests during 2014 in BiH have shown that request for “social justice” has the power to prevail and to suspend “ethno-cultural justice” narrative, temporarily.¹⁶

Thus, the impact of the public pressure to reveal the blue wall of silence has very limited effects, in particular, due to the specific context of Republika Srpska. Moreover, it produces a severe violation of human rights and fundamental freedoms of citizens. Finally, breaking the high ceiling of the corruption by democratic means and using a fundamental right of freedom of assembly by its citizens in a specific context of divided societies and the ethnocratic regime of Republika Srpska represents an enormous challenge that can be compared as “fighting windmills”.

Conclusion

The purpose of this essay was to examine and to answer the question: can activism reveal the silence of the "blue wall" in divided societies in the case of "Justice for David" trough the knowledge learned at Peace Academy. However, it should be acknowledged that this topic deserves an in-depth and comprehensive analysis.

Firstly, I wanted to explore the dimensions of the phenomenon of the silence of the blue wall and how it has been put in practice through the case of Justice for David. Secondly, I discuss the relationship between the achievements of the activists, the reaction of the international community and authorities.

The aim was to understand the meaning of the silence of the blue wall and how activism can effect in breaking the ties of this phenomenon. What became clear is that activism has limited impact in disclosing the vicious circle of the blue wall ties in the context of divided societies and particular ethocratic regime of Republika Srpska. However, it remains to be seen further development of the movement "Justice for David" and influence of the international community for the severe breaches of human rights and fundamental freedoms. How will the main democratic principles be recalled and preserved?

End Notes

1. John Kleining, The Blue Wall of Silence an Ethical Analysis, International Journal of Applied Philosophy, 2001 pp.1-23.
2. Ibid.
3. See Chin & Wells, supra note 29, at 261-64.
4. See Allison Patton, The Endless Cycle of Abuse: Why 42 U.S.C. § 1983 Is Ineffective in Deterring Police Brutality, 44 HASTINGS L.J. 753, 754 (1993).
5. Milorad Milojevic, Sta se dogodilo Davidu? Radio Slobodna Evropa, April 26, 2018.
6. Ibid.
7. Ibid.
8. N1 Sarajevo, Davor Dragicevic za N1: Sklonio sam se da me ne ubiju, kao sto su mog sina, February 2019, retrieved from http://rs.n1info.com/Region/a458253/Davor-Dragicevic-Sklonio-sam-se-da-me-ne-ubiju-kao-sto-su-mog-sina.html (accessed on September 13, 2020)
9. N1 Sarajevo, "Justice for David" activist call for the international community to get involved, December 2018 Retrieved from http://ba.n1info.com/English/NEWS/a306046/Justice-for-David-activists-gather-again-request-reactions-from-international-community.html (Accessed on September 13, 2020)
10. N1 Sarajevo, Davor Dragicevic za N1: Sklonio sam se da me ne ubiju, kao sto su mog sina, February 2019, retrieved from http://rs.n1info.com/Region/a458253/Davor-Dragicevic-Sklonio-sam-se-da-me-ne-ubiju-kao-sto-su-mog-sina.html (accessed on September 13, 2020)
11. Danijel Kovacevic, Bosnian Serb Police Arrest “Justice for David” Members, Balkan Insight, July 2020 Retrieved from https://balkaninsight.com/2020/07/08/bosnian-serb-police-arrest-justice-for-david-members/ (accessed on September 13, 2020)
12. Asim Mujkic, In search of a democratic counter – power in Bosnia and Herzegovina, pp. 628.
13. N1 Sarajevo, EU concerned over RS crackdown against Justice for David group and opposition, December 2018, Retrieved from http://ba.n1info.com/English/NEWS/a305737/EU-concerned-with-RS-police-crackdown-on-Davor-Dragicevic-and-opposition-politicians.html (accessed October 10, 2020). EU ambassadors express support for fathers of murdered young men, December 2018 http://ba.n1info.com/English/NEWS/a302877/EU-ambassadors-express-support-for-fathers-of-murdered-young-men.html (accessed October 10, 2020).
14. N1 Sarajevo, Bosnian journalist attacked in Banja Luka, August 17, 2018. Retrieved from http://rs.n1info.com/English/NEWS/a414989/Journalist-heavily-beatin-in-Republika-Srpska-capital-Banja-Luka.html.
15. Formiran anketni odbor u vezi sa slucajem stradanja Davida Dragicevica, Nezavisne Novine, May 2018 Retrieved from https://www.nezavisne.com/novosti/bih/Formiran-Anketni-odbor-u-vezi-sa-slucajem-stradanja-Davida-Dragicevica/477840 (accessed on September 13, 2020).
16. Asim Mujkic, In search of a democratic counter – power in Bosnia and Herzegovina, pp. 627.

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