The National Assembly of the Republika Srpska entity (RSNA) rejected the RSNA Inquiry Board's report into the case of the death of David Dragicevic. Of the 69 MPs present at the session, 27 of them supported the Inquiry Board’s report while 37 abstained.

The opposition in the RSNA requested that MPs vote individually on the report, but their proposal was rejected by the majority vote, after which a fierce discussion followed.

Following the vote on the Inquiry Board’s report, opposition MPs left the session and addressed the press. Opposition leaders Dragan Cavic and Branislav Borenovic were clearly disappointed and Borenovic, who is head of the Inquiry Board said this vote was for the truth and justice, but the Assembly majority voted differently.

“Twenty-seven MPs standing here before you voted in favour of truth and justice. Unfortunately, the parliamentary majority led by the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats (SNSD), the Democratic People’s Alliance (DNS) and the Socialist Party (SP) annulled the RS Parliament today and decided to make the parliamentary majority accomplice in hiding the truth and justice and hiding the murder of David Dragicevic,” Borenovic said.

He added that the inquiry Board did its job professionally and that the second conclusion of the report has been confirmed by the Prosecution, which stipulates that there is ground for suspicion that David was killed.  

Dragan Cavic said the prosecution will publish a statement saying that the case will be characterised as a murder investigation.

“Its absolutely clear how the case will be characterised now and what comes next. Knowing that the Prosecution decided this is a murder investigation, we voted in favour of Inquiry Board’s conclusions,” he said.

Right after the Opposition's press conference, the RS Interior Minister Dragan Lukac also spoke to the press saying the investigation into the case will provide some answers.

“The Interior Ministry received an order from the District Prosecutor's Office to conduct an investigation. This breaks down all the theories concerning the case. The order states there was a verbal event that hasn’t been investigated, yet, which will be part of the investigation. Lukac said. “David Dragicevic ran from the perpetrators and fell in the Crkvina River, or was pushed into the river by the perpetrators.”

“A team of experts from Zagreb said that his injuries were the most likely mady by the fall in the Crkvina River. All injuries were minor bodily injuries which could not have caused death. What is most important is that all the theories that were made about the case, that David was kidnapped, beaten, tortured, raped and all other morbid theories will fall.”

He said he hopes this will solve the case completely and that the Prosecution will provide answers to the public.

The Inquiry Board’s report states, among other things, that there are grounds for suspicion that David Dragicevic, a young man from Banja Luka, whose disappearance was reported on March 18, and whose body was found six days later in the Crkvena River, was killed and that they expect the RS Prosecutor's Office to act with an appropriate decision.

Dragan Lukac, the RS Interior Minister, said earlier that the Ministry did not receive any decision from the Prosecution.

The parents claimed David was brutally murdered and the police were tampering with the evidence and protecting the perpetrators. This prompted mass protests in Banja Luka in April and citizens still keep gathering, demanding authorities reveal the true circumstances of Dragicevic’s death.

Police in Republika Srpska (RS), one of Bosnia's two semi-autonomous entities, said Dragicevic had drowned and that the case contained no elements of a criminal offence, but then autopsies conducted by two different teams gave opposite results regarding the time of death of the young man.