Cantonal Court Sarajevo Reimposes Custody for Alija Delimustafić and Others Following Prosecution Appeal

The Cantonal Court Sarajevo extended custody for two months for former Minister of Interior of the Republic of BiH Alija Delimustafić, as well as Jusuf Škrijelj, Suada Hadžić and Lejla Cerić, arrested in the operation “Pravda”, confirmed for the Patria agency Azra Bavčić, spokesperson for the Cantonal Prosecution.

We recall, on December 9, the Cantonal Court panel lifted custody for the four suspects, and the Cantonal Prosecution filed an appeal with the Supreme Court of the Federation of BiH, which sent the case back to the Cantonal Court for a decision, which then ordered two-month custody. 

The Prosecution suspects Delimustafić and the others of belonging to an organized criminal group that illegally registered and conducted real estate transactions in the Sarajevo Canton area. In addition to Delimustafić, 19 people were arrested in this operation, and according to the Prosecution, the investigation into these acts is being conducted against several dozen individuals.

The Cantonal Court earlier extended custody for two months for Izet Musić, Mirsad Delimustafić and Zoran Lončar, while a warrant was issued for former Sarajevo Municipal Court judge Lejla Fazlagić. The Prosecution recently submitted a proposal to the Ministry of Justice of BiH to send a request to Croatia for her extradition.

The Cantonal Prosecution of Sarajevo Canton stated in a response on December 12 that the Court's decision to lift detention was unfounded and not based on the law. The Prosecution then announced that if left free, suspects Alija Delimustafić and Jusuf Škrijelj could become unavailable to the prosecuting authorities, just as suspect Lejla Fazlagić remains unavailable to the prosecuting authorities.