Radončić and others: Witness flirted with Azra Sarić

Defense witness Elvir Džibrić stated at the trial of Fahrudin Radončić and three other defendants for obstruction of justice that he flirted with witness Azra Sarić and that he did not intend to scare her, Detektor reports, as carried by the Patria agency.

Elvir Džibrić recounted having had thoughtless communication with Sarić, or "flirting," as he explained in the courtroom, which led to him being summoned to the State Investigation and Protection Agency (SIPA) to give a statement.

Džibrić added that he had no intention of hurting anyone and did not wish to scare Sarić.

"At SIPA, they asked me if I knew Radončić, Azra Sarić, Kelmendi... I said that I had not actually seen these people, nor had I had any phone contact with them," Džibrić stated.

The witness could not recall all the details of the conversation with Sarić, nor whether he had advised or suggested some form of protection to her, but he did say that he might have expressed himself incorrectly when he told her that he "works at the embassy."

Defense counsel Muhidin Kapo read to the witness a part of his statement from the investigation in which he stated that in late January 2016, via a social network, he "mentioned to Sarić to get another phone, that a team from Kosovo had arrived, to be careful with whom she socialized and not to go to meetings alone, because he wanted to gain her favor," which the witness confirmed. When asked why he mentioned the "team from Kosovo," Džibrić replied that it just came to his mind.

A part of the statement was also read in which the witness said that he had never worked for a domestic or foreign service and that he had not been at the embassy, which he had made up during the conversation, and Džibrić also assessed this part as accurate.

The prosecution objected that everything Džibrić was talking about went beyond the scope of the indictment, which pertains to the period from December 14, 2015, to January 12, 2016. The Defense responded that the witness had been misused when determining custody, and Radončić mentioned a SIPA document from February 8, 2016, requesting that Sarić be granted protected witness status because she had spoken of threats in her communication with Džibrić.

"If it is known that I was taken into custody, and Džibrić was not heard, it shows how the Prosecutor's Office operated," the defendant added.

The indictment accuses Radončić of ordering pressure to be exerted on Sarić to testify falsely in the proceedings against Naser Kelmendi in Kosovo, with Bilsena Šahman and Bakir Dautbašić acting as perpetrators. Radončić is also accused of attempting to find out from Zijad Hadžijahić, an employee of the United States (US) Embassy in BiH, whether an investigation had been opened regarding the pressure on witness Sarić and, if so, to try to influence its closure.

Jasmina Bešić-Kurteš, a defense witness for the accused Šahman, stated that Sarić was present at a celebration organized by the company "Farmavita" at the "Park" hotel on December 17, 2015, and that she greeted her upon arrival. According to the witness, she left the hotel with Sarić after midnight, as Sarić had invited her to go together, and they had a normal conversation on the way, and Sarić did not seem scared.

Sait Muradić, general director of "Apoteka Sarajevo," testified that he was chosen for that position by the Management Board through an open competition and that the issue of a new director was current at the end of 2015 because the previous one's term was expiring.

"Šahman was not interested in that position. She mostly insisted that I should be the one," the witness said and added that he was in Vienna in December 2015, and the accused was also there.

The trial continues on March 7.