How Semir Halilović's Foundation Received 800,000 KM from the Budget in 4 Years

The Foundation for the Protection of Historical Facts „Pravednost“ Sarajevo, founded by Semir Halilović, son of Sefer Halilović, president of BPS, in September 2013, has so far received 800,000 KM from the Ministry of Veterans' Affairs of the Sarajevo Canton, with two decisions signed by Minister Faid Hećo (BPS) and Muharem Fišo (BPS), reports the Bosnian news agency Patria.

Semir Halilović has been a current BPS representative in the Sarajevo Canton Assembly since November 2014, and the Foundation first received 200,000 KM in 2013, just two months after its establishment, following a public call published in November of that year.

Besides him, the founders of the Foundation are also Medina Delalić, Nusret Halilović, Sead Gajević, and Smajo Halilović, which was confirmed to the Patria agency in August 2015 by the Ministry of Justice of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Medina Delalić also serves as the director of the Foundation. Interestingly, the Foundation's address is Ćemaluša 6/2, where the BPS premises are also located.

Extract from the foundation register 

The news agency Patria has previously written about the allocation of funds from the Sarajevo Canton Budget, which was intended for providing legal assistance to former members of the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina suspected or accused of war crimes for 2013 and 2014, but according to data obtained from Minister Fišo, the money allocated for 2014 was least used to help the suspects.

According to reports submitted by the Foundation Pravednost, funds were allocated to 18 individuals in amounts ranging from 1,500 KM to 5,125 KM, as well as to legal defense teams for the accused in the Trusina and Igman cases, amounting to 10,000 KM.

Reimbursement of costs for expert analyses for the defense of accused members of the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina in proceedings before BiH courts amounted to 73,000 KM. For the purchase of relevant documents for the „Silos“ case, i.e., the case of eight accused from Hadžići, 4,100 KM was spent, while 16,000 KM was spent on the production of video materials. According to the agreement signed for employee costs, the Foundation had a budget of 40,000 KM for each tranche they received.

In response to the public call published in April 2015, the Foundation Pravednost submitted two projects worth 200,000 KM: providing financial assistance to participants of the defensive-liberation war 1992-1995 who are suspected/accused of war crimes in proceedings before BiH courts. The second project was the purchase of documents, audio and visual materials, and the production of documents and other materials related to the war.

Also, in 2015, the Foundation „Patriotski front“ Hadžići applied to the public call with a project for financial assistance to cover defense costs for those accused of war crimes from the Hadžići municipality area and providing financial assistance to their families. This project was rejected with the explanation „that it is exclusively related to the area of the Hadžići municipality, i.e., the Hadžići group (eight accused members of the Army and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina from the Hadžići municipality area), and is not of priority interest for the Sarajevo Canton.“  

The fourth public call was published on February 15, 2016, and the Foundation Pravednost applied again, while the project of the Patriotski front was not accepted.

Minister of Veterans' Affairs of the Sarajevo Canton Muharem Fišo, in a telephone conversation with the Patria agency (conducted on June 6), confirmed that he gave money to the Foundation Pravednost. Since he no longer wished to speak by phone, the minister himself chose the day and time for a meeting with the Patria journalist - Thursday, June 9, at 9 a.m.

However, upon arriving at the Ministry, we were informed that Minister Fišo was at a session of the Sarajevo Canton Government, after which he did not respond at all. Also, on June 6, we sent an official letter to Minister Fišo with several questions, to which he did not respond.

Due to public interest, we publish the questions we sent:

- Please answer which foundations passed the public call published on February 15, 2016, and in what amount were funds allocated to them?
- Was there any control over the use of funds previously allocated by the Ministry to the Foundation for the Protection of Historical Facts „Pravednost“ Sarajevo, and were the funds used for their intended purpose?
- How many times has the Foundation Pravednost received funds from the Ministry of Veterans' Affairs of the Sarajevo Canton so far, and in what amount?
- How many applicants were there for the public call?

Screenshot of the sent email