Bećirović and Komšić will not vote for Novalić's pardon

(Patria) - Two members of the tripartite Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Željko Komšić and Denis Bećirović, stated on Wednesday that they will not support the proposal for the pardon of the former President of the Government of the Federation of BiH, Fadil Novalić, at the session of the state Presidency.

The Ministry of Justice of Bosnia and Herzegovina received a request and documentation asking the Pardon Commission of this ministry to consider pardoning Novalić, who was sentenced by the Court of BiH to four years in prison for abuse of office during the procurement of ventilators during the coronavirus pandemic.

The Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which is responsible for granting pardons, can grant pardons to convicted persons for criminal sanctions imposed by the Court of BiH.

"We must respect Bosnia and Herzegovina, its judicial system, and certainly not be under the influence of political factors," said Denis Bećirović, responding to a question from RSE at a press conference in Sarajevo.

A pardon grants a person full or partial exemption from serving a sentence or replaces the imposed sentence with a milder sentence or a suspended sentence, cancels or shortens the duration of the imposed security measure prohibiting the performance of a profession, activity or duty, or orders the expungement of the conviction.

The Presidency of BiH in its current composition – Željko Komšić, Denis Bećirović and Željka Cvijanović – has not made any decision on pardons.