RESPIRATOR CASE: Novalić did not intervene to allow Srebrena malina to import respirators

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - Indira Fazlagić, general inspector of the Agency for Medicines and Medical Devices of Bosnia and Herzegovina, testified today in the "Respirators" case, stating that no one from the FBiH Government, including Prime Minister Fadil Novalić, "intervened" or exerted pressure to register the company FH Srebrena malina owned by Fikret Hodžić in the register of companies dealing with the import of medical equipment.

She also stated that neither the Director of the Agency, Aleksandar Zolak, nor any of her colleagues told her that Novalić had intervened with him.

Answering questions from prosecutor Mirza Hukeljić, this witness stated that during the declaration of a state of emergency caused by the coronavirus pandemic in BiH, she personally communicated with the Office of the FBiH Prime Minister, specifically that Hasan Ganibegović (then head of the FBiH Prime Minister's cabinet) called her. Ganibegović, as she stated, got her number from Dr. Harun Avdagić, who was also heard as a witness today, and inquired about the procedure for procuring respirators.

She, as she recounted today in the courtroom, informed him that a permit for emergency import was required for both the importer and the medical device being imported.

As she further explained, he did not mention which respirators were being imported, nor who was importing them. She further stated that Ganibegović asked her if she could recommend a company that could import respirators, and she suggested the company Tuzlafarm because, as she said, they often handled emergency imports and were "experienced" in such matters. After that, as she said, she never spoke with Hasan Ganibegović again.

She learned about the import of respirators procured by Srebrena malina, as she said today in the courtroom, when her colleague Mladen Čančarević brought her the file, i.e., the request from the company FH Srebrena malina for registration. Attached to this request was a letter from the Federal Civil Protection Administration stating that respirators were being procured for the needs of the FBiH, and that Srebrena malina was importing them. The file, as she stated, was assigned to inspector Dragana Reljić and marked as "urgent". When asked by the prosecutor who makes the decision on the request, she said that the acting inspector provides an opinion, which she initials, and the final decision is signed by the director and is in the form of a ruling.

Answering questions from the defense, she said that she did not mark the item as urgent because someone "from the Government" was inquiring, but because of the pandemic and the shortage of equipment. She had previously confirmed that the Agency, at the request of the Council of Ministers of BiH, had recorded the status of available equipment in stock at the time of the pandemic declaration, and they determined that there were 0 (zero) respirators available. She also stated that around that time, the Agency received a letter from the Minister of Health and Social Welfare of Republika Srpska, Alen Šeranić, requesting that these devices have absolute priority over everything else.

She also said that it was an emergency situation at the time and that they did not follow usual procedures, and that this case was handled as quickly as possible. Everything, as she testified, was subordinated to urgency, and mostly indirect inspections were carried out (without inspectors visiting the site) or shortened direct inspections (with minimal time spent by inspectors on the ground).

Fazlagić also confirmed the official information that Novalić's defense received from the Agency that in the period from March 17 to June 1 last year, during the state of emergency, the Agency issued 325 approvals for the emergency import of medical devices not registered in the registry.

- Petar Ćorluka, director of Violeta, also inquired about the procurement of respirators? - asked lawyer Vidović, to which the witness replied: "Yes, he inquired and imported without documentation."

Also, when asked if the BiH Prosecutor's Office had asked the Agency to conduct supervision of where UNDP and Violeta store respirators, the witness answered in the negative.

Previously, she recounted that, by order of the BiH Prosecutor's Office, after the state of emergency was lifted, they conducted a direct inspection at the company Srebrena malina and the Federal Civil Protection Administration. As she said, the respirators were then located at the FUCZ, and the inspectors determined that they were stored improperly, that they were under a tent on wooden pallets that had absorbed moisture, and that they were ordered to be moved immediately and a way to store them properly to be found.

Fazlagić also stated, among other things, that the Agency never received reports of adverse effects from the ACM 812 A respirators procured by Srebrena malina, writes Faktor.

Before her testimony, Dr. Harun Avdagić, a member of the expert council of the Agency for Medicines and Medical Devices of BiH, was also heard in the courtroom.

He said today that he gave the number of Indira Fazlagić, whom he described as having "the Agency's work in her little finger," to someone who introduced himself as calling from the Prime Minister's office and asked who was responsible for permits. He said that the person who called him (whom Fazlagić identified as Hasan Ganibegović) did not specify who was importing or what kind of equipment was being imported.

Among other things, he also said that he knows Prime Minister Novalić through mutual friends, and that he met him several times at some protocol events, and that Goran Miraščić, advisor to Prime Minister Novalić, is his kum (godfather/best man). He also stated that neither Novalić nor Miraščić ever contacted him regarding import permits for respirators.

Today's hearing, like most previous ones, was marked by endless arguments between prosecutor Mirza Hukeljić and the defense attorneys of the accused, as well as the members of the judicial panel themselves.

One of the panel members, judge Branko Perić, commented after one such discussion that the prosecutor "is dragging the entire proceedings down with procedural matters," while lawyer Vasvija Vidović said that "because of him, she will be forced to leave the courtroom for the first time in her career," and her colleague Senka Nožica at one point requested a break, stating that she was "deeply upset and irritated by the prosecutor's behavior."

The trial will continue on Friday, when the continuation of the hearing of witnesses for the BiH Prosecutor's Office is scheduled.