Can Mehmedagić lead the OSA without access to classified information?

SARAJEVO, (Patria) – It is still unknown when the session of the Joint Commission for Oversight of the OSA, which was adjourned on February 4, will continue. The permit for access to top-secret level data for OSA Director General Osman Mehmedagić expires tomorrow, and a new request has not been submitted to the Ministry of Security of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

At the adjourned session, the agenda was not adopted either, and some members requested answers from the Executive Intelligence Committee on whether Mehmedagić can perform the function of director given that a court proceeding is underway against him at the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina for abuse of position.

“The question is whether Osman Mehmedagić can dispose of information and sign documents while the court proceeding is ongoing. This should be clarified by the competent bodies, primarily the Executive Intelligence Committee and the Council of Ministers. Once we receive those answers, we will continue the session and discuss the proposed agenda,” said Commission member Nenad Stevandić.

Commission member Mirko Šarović emphasized that it was agreed to invite members of the Executive Intelligence Committee to the session, who should provide an answer on the legitimacy of the leadership's status and access to classified information.

The mandate of Mehmedagić and his deputy Trifko Buhi expired in November 2019, but they continued to perform their duties, as did Chief Inspector Damir Bevanda. For the new mandate, Mehmedagić was proposed again, with Risto Zarić as deputy, and Bevanda again as chief inspector.

The Joint Commission for Oversight of the OSA was also supposed to consider the 2021 Budget, but for now, that is on hold as well.

Commission member Predrag Kožul said that the Commission Chair Nermin Nikšić took on the obligation to coordinate and schedule the continuation of the session with members of the Executive Intelligence Committee, which consists of the Chair of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina Zoran Tegeltija and two deputies (Bisera Turković, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Vjekoslav Bevanda, Minister of Finance and Treasury), the committee, and the Council of Ministers.

It remains unclear whether Mehmedagić holds a valid university degree, given that one was annulled and another, which he submitted to the Joint Commission, was declared a classified document. An investigation into that diploma from the American University in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which he allegedly obtained in 2013, is being conducted by the Prosecutor's Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Today, the Prosecutor's Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina confirmed that a new indictment has been filed against Mehmedagić for abuse of position in connection with appointments to the Second Instance Commission for deciding on appeals in security clearance cases. The indictment was also filed against the Minister of Security of Bosnia and Herzegovina Selmo Cikotić and member of the Second Instance Commission Muriz Druškić.