CLAIMS THAT GIRL HAD PREVIOUSLY BEEN SUBJECTED TO PEER VIOLENCE BEING INVESTIGATED

TUZLA, SEPTEMBER 15 /SRNA/ - The Cantonal Prosecutor's Office in Tuzla is conducting investigative activities to establish all circumstances surrounding an incident at a primary school in Gornja Tuzla in which a 15-year-old girl injured a minor, with particular attention being paid to information that the girl had been subjected to peer violence.

Sources close to the family of the minor girl previously told SRNA that she had endured peer violence for two years and had been called a Chetnik girl, a Serb and "an infidel". They said that she had been subjected to this violence precisely by the girls against whom she physically stood up. The Cantonal Prosecutor's Office said that the checks are being conducted in a separate case by questioning persons with relevant information, obtaining the necessary documentation and collecting other relevant data. All circumstances need to be established as to whether the actions or failure to act by responsible persons contain elements of a criminal offence, after which a prosecutorial decision will be made. "The Cantonal Prosecutor's Office and the Police Administration of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Tuzla Canton are fully acting in accordance with the Law on the Protection and Treatment of Children and Minors in Criminal Proceedings of the FBiH," the Prosecutor's Office said. They recalled that a juvenile judge of the Municipal Court in Tuzla ordered one month of custody for the 15-year-old girl from Gornja Tuzla on suspicion that she had committed, in concurrence, the criminal offences of attempted murder and attempted infliction of serious bodily injuries, in which two girls from the same school were injured. The Municipal Court ordered the custody at the proposal of the cantonal prosecutor, while preparatory proceedings have been opened against the minor. The Prosecutor's Office noted that custody of a minor is envisaged as a last resort, provided that all general and special grounds for ordering custody are met, which is the case in this particular matter. The girl is charged with having inflicted life-threatening serious injuries with a knife on a minor at the premises of Gornja Tuzla Primary School on September 4, and with attempting to inflict serious injuries on another minor. A source told SRNA earlier that the school administration had been informed in time about the harassment of the girl and the name-calling to which she had been subjected, but assurances had come from the school that it would not happen again. No one took any action, while the girl was told every day that she was a "Chetnik girl," "you are a Serb," "you eat pork," and similar things.