After several local media outlets reported on two minors who committed suicide within a span of two years in the Vitez area, more precisely in the village of Jardol, the Central Bosnia Canton (SBK) Interior Ministry confirmed this information to N1. They said that in the first eight months of this year, two minors committed suicide and that in 2021 and 2022, one minor committed suicide each year without stating the reasons why.

The Ministry said that they are still working on shedding light on these cases. N1 visited the village and in an informal conversation with the locals, the crew learned that residents were shocked for the past two years and feared for their children. They added that competent institutions should solve this problem because of the harmful reporting by certain news portals.

“In the first 8 months of the current year, two suicides committed by minors were reported in the Vitez area. Also, in 2021 and 2022, two such cases were reported in this area. In cooperation with the competent Cantonal Prosecutor's Office, the police officers took measures and actions prescribed by law,” the Interior Ministry said.

The minors who committed suicide were teenagers, three of them were 16, and one was 17 years old.

In a statement to N1, the Head of the Vitez Municipality, Boris Marjanovic, said that there is room for concern and that institutions must deal with this issue and solve the problem.

The SBK Prosecutor’s Office told N1 that they are doing everything in their power to solve these cases.

“We would like to inform you that the Cantonal Prosecutor's Office of the Central Bosnia Canton, as the body in charge of detecting and prosecuting perpetrators of criminal offences, determines and assesses whether those are criminal offences through the investigation of information – hearing of witnesses and taking other measures and actions provided for by law in each specific case, and depending on the determined state we take further steps in such cases,” the Prosecution said.

They added that in specific cases of suicide of minors, the on-duty prosecutors were informed about the unfortunate events, and cases were formed in the Prosecutor's Office.

“The prosecutor's office took measures and actions in order to verify the circumstances under which the deaths of minors occurred. Considering that these are minors, the Prosecutor's Office, in accordance with the Guidelines for the publication of prosecutorial and court decisions adopted by the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council of BiH, does not publish personal data and the same must be protected during the entire procedure, regardless of the status and persons in the specific procedure, which is why we are not able to provide more information,” The SBK Prosecutor's Office concluded.