Hadžibajrić sentenced to six months in prison for unlawfully dismissing six people

(Patria) - The Cantonal Court in Sarajevo has upheld the first-instance verdict of the Sarajevo Municipal Court from June last year, sentencing Ibrahim Hadžibajrić to six months in prison for the criminal offense of violating labor rights.

At the same time, the verdict imposed a ban on holding the position of municipal chief for four years after the judgment becomes final, confirmed by the Sarajevo Canton Prosecutor's Office.

The Prosecutor's Office emphasized that this is the first final verdict in Sarajevo Canton for this criminal offense.

The Sarajevo Municipal Court in May 2023 confirmed the (first) indictment of the Sarajevo Canton Prosecutor's Office against Ibrahim Hadžibajrić for the criminal offense of violating labor rights.

Hadžibajrić is charged with unlawfully dismissing six civil servants and employees in the Stari Grad Municipality from March 2020 to March 2021. This verdict is final and no appeal is allowed.

Hadžibajrić was released from custody seven days ago, where he had been held since May 2023 when he was arrested along with the municipality's secretary Alma Destanović and four other individuals as part of the "Start" operation. They were charged with criminal offenses of organized crime, abuse of position or authority, money laundering, and accepting and giving bribes.

"They are suspected that from 2019 to May 2023, Ibrahim Hadžibajrić and Elmedin Karišik organized and led a criminal group whose members included Alma Destanović, Seid Hadžibajrić, and other individuals. Some group members communicated via the installed Sky application to conceal traces and ultimately coordinate the commission of criminal offenses. They are charged with unlawfully leasing parking spaces in the Stari Grad Municipality area to at least three companies over which they had control, illegally earning several hundred thousand marks," the Prosecutor's Office stated shortly after the arrests.

The trial in this case is ongoing.