FINALLY Kaplan, Ljubović and Mahmutćehajić acquitted after nearly a decade of proceedings

(Patria) - After the first-instance verdict of the Municipal Court in Čapljina was quashed by a decision of the Cantonal Court in Mostar on 20 May 2025 and the case was returned for retrial, the main hearing before the Cantonal Court was held and concluded on 10 November 2025.

The panel of the Cantonal Court rendered a verdict dismissing the charges against Samir Kaplan, Ahmed Ljubović and Demir Mahmutćehajić as unfounded.

This information was confirmed to Patria by attorney Alen Nakić.

The court established that the prosecution failed to prove the allegations in the indictment and that there is no evidence to confirm their criminal responsibility.

Thus, this multi-year proceeding has finally ended in favor of the accused.

The verdict confirms that Kaplan, Ljubović and Mahmutćehajić were unjustly prosecuted, which further raises the question of responsibility for initiating proceedings that proved to be unjustified and burdensome for all participants.

We recall that according to the indictment, which ultimately collapsed, the accused were charged as co-perpetrators with: Destruction of election documents (Article 199 of the Criminal Code of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina), obstructing an official in performing official duties (Article 358, paragraph 2 in conjunction with paragraph 1 of the Criminal Code of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina), while Kaplan was additionally charged with inflicting grievous bodily harm (Article 172, paragraph 1 of the Criminal Code of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina), in connection with the conduct of elections in Stolac in 2016.