Vasvija Vidović's prison sentence commuted to a fine

(Patria) - Sarajevo lawyer Vasvija Vidović, who was sentenced to six months in prison by the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina for obstruction of justice, has had her sentence commuted to a fine.

The Court stated that the prison sentence was commuted to a fine in the amount of 17,800 KM, as confirmed for Detektor.

According to the verdict of the Appellate Panel, Vidović was found guilty of taking a mobile phone held by the then-suspect Ranko Debevec on December 18, 2023, around 6 PM, after accessing the official premises of the State Investigation and Protection Agency (SIPA) as his defense attorney, aware of her unlawful actions.

As stated, Vidović took the phone, which served as evidence, with the aim of significantly hindering the proof of unlawful actions in the criminal proceedings against Debevec.

When deciding on the amount of the fine, the Court took into account the personality of the accused, that she had no prior convictions, and the circumstances under which this criminal offense was committed.

The Panel rejected the proposal of the BiH Prosecutor's Office to impose a ban on Vidović performing her duties as a lawyer.

The trial of Vidović was reopened after the annulment of the first-instance verdict from February last year, by which she was sentenced to one year in prison for hiding the mobile phone of the suspended president of the BiH Court, Debevec, who was arrested in December 2023 for abuse of office.