Bosnia to Decide Fate of 'Negligent' Spy Chief

Bosnia's Security Ministry is seeking the dismissal of Goran Zubac, director of the State Investigative and Protection Agency, SIPA, at Wednesday's session of the Council of Ministers.

The ministry has already denied the spy chief access to confidential data. This is because he has been indicted for negligence in relation to the February protests, which resulted in several official buildings, including the Presidency, being set on fire.

Zubac is accused of negligence for having allegedly refused to send special police from SIPA to protect the Presidency building even after other police forces requested back-up.

Mladen Cavar, Bosnia's Deputy Security Minister - currently in charge of the ministry following the dismissal of Fahrudin Radoncic in connection to the February protests - denied Zubac access to secret data on Monday.

The decision was made after the Prosecutor's Office had informed him that Zubac faced formal indictment for negligence related to the protests.

“Persons facing disciplinary proceedings or criminal proceedings must be denied access to secret data,” Cavar said, referring to the laws.

The decision to deny the intelligence chief access to secret data is described as temporary and will last until the legal case against him is concluded.

Mass protests against poverty, corruption and unemployment started in the northern town of Tuzla on February 5.

Hundreds of redundant workers from several large companies that had been privatized and shut down took to the streets.

The protests then spread and turned violent, after which official buildings were torched or attacked in Tuzla, Zenica, Mostar and Sarajevo. Four prime ministers of cantons in Bosnia's larger entity, the...