The City Cemetery Banja Luka and the University Clinical Center of Republika Srpska (UKCRS) have issued statements in which they mutually shift blame for the disappearance of baby Sara, born in Banja Luka’s Clinical Center Paprikovac in 2018. The statements, however, make no mention of another baby, the son of Nataša Stijak.
The Cemetery management has stated that the body of the baby, identified as the child of Aleksandra Blagojević, was received from UKC RS. They cited accompanying documentation issued by this healthcare institution, clarifying that they were unable to conduct body identification upon receipt.
“The burial of deceased individuals’ remains is typically preceded by identification by the deceased’s relatives, which is recorded on the prescribed form at the City Cemetery, explained the management.
The statement notes that the body was buried almost a month after it was received, and during that time, no one contacted them regarding the burial.
The Cemetery does not mention Nataša Stijak’s baby in the statement, nor does it explain where Sara was actually buried, despite the exhumations and DNA analyses of remains from two graves showing that neither baby was found in them.
UKCRS had issued a similar statement the day before, succinctly noting their adherence to all medical protocols in the treatment of the pregnant woman and newborn, as well as the legal regulations governing the conducted autopsy. They emphasized that they are not responsible for the burial, funeral, and exhumation of bodies.
“In addition, our records contain confirmation of the deceased being transferred to the Banja Luka City Cemetery,” the statement concluded, redirecting attention to another institution in the chain of responsibility.
UKCRS, in its recent statement, focused largely on critiquing the documentary film “Where is Sara?” instead of directly addressing the cases of missing babies.
“Additionally, we cannot escape the impression that the aforementioned film, at least in terms of the jurisdiction of UKC RS, was made tendentiously to completely discredit the healthcare system of Republika Srpska and create space for speculation,” reads the UKC RS statement.
CIN reminds the public that UKCRS ignored journalist inquiries for seven months before finally responding, stating that no babies died at their institution in September 2018. However, when confronted with the case of Sara, who was born and died in that same month, they claimed it was a mistake and provided a photo of their protocol book with handwritten records of the baby’s birth and death.
Despite the significant public concern sparked by the CIN documentary, neither the officials from the Cemetery nor UKCRS have personally addressed the media or allowed questions from journalists since the release of the film.
In their statements, there is no answer to the question of where are the daughter of Aleksandra Blagojević and Miloš Kuprešanin, and the son of Nataša Stijak.
The District Public Prosecutor’s Office (DPPO) in Banja Luka initiated an official investigation into the disappearance of these babies after the release of the film.
It is worth noting that the DPPO had already opened a case in 2019 based on the report filed by Sara’s parents, which was closed two and a half years later following the reports of two experts. These experts concluded that there were no elements of negligence or improper medical treatment in the actions of the medical staff.
