Damir Hadžić: I became an easy target because I am not politically active

The Cantonal Court in Sarajevo ordered a one-month detention for former state minister and former mayor of Novi Grad Sarajevo Municipality, Damir Hadžić, who was arrested in the Blok operation.

During the investigation in the Blok operation, the Cantonal Prosecutor's Office linked Hadžić to a disputed piece of land in the Sarajevo settlement of Nedžarići.

In 2006, the Municipality of Novi Grad allocated land to Esed Radeljaš for a fee of KM 51,340. After he failed to comply with the concluded contract and built a business facility on this plot, the municipality took the land away from him. He decided to seek compensation, which he received, in an amount 23 times higher than the original fee.

The decision to pay millions in compensation was made directly by the then mayor Damir Hadžić, according to the prosecution. However, this is not the only questionable deal. The prosecution suspects Hadžić of long-term illicit dealings with Radeljaš.

"That the suspects, generally since 2005, have acted jointly in committing the criminal offenses they are charged with, that within a mutually agreed plan they have continuously realized the essential elements of criminal offenses for many years, that they have continuously undertaken interconnected and dependent actions," said Senad Osmić, the acting prosecutor.

Suspect Hadžić claims that the prosecutor gave the hearing a dimension that has an exclusively political context. He claims that since he is no longer politically active, he has become an easy target.

"For two years now, I have not been a member of any political body, any political entity, any political party in BiH, nor any state institution," said Damir Hadžić, former mayor of Novi Grad Municipality, N1 reports.