(VIDEO) Jahić filed criminal charges against judge Hadžiomerović, who confirmed the indictment in the 'Respirators' case.

By: A. Čorbo-Zećo

Elmir Jahić, a member of Fadil Novalić's legal team, today filed criminal charges with the Cantonal Prosecutor's Office of Sarajevo Canton against judge Enida Hadžiomerović, who confirmed the indictment in the 'Respirators' case.

„We have filed criminal charges against BiH Court judge Enida Hadžiomerović, who confirmed the indictment filed by the BiH Prosecutor's Office in the case of Fadil Novalić, better known as Respirators. The reason we decided to take this step is that after analyzing the case files in all stages of the procedure, especially in the phase when Hadžiomerović had the documentation at her disposal when confirming the indictment, we determined that there is a basis for suspicion that Hadžiomerović did not have relevant evidence,“ said Jahić.

Jahić: There will be more criminal charges.

He adds that everything indicates that judge Enida Hadžiomerović committed several criminal offenses prescribed by the Criminal Procedure Code of BiH and the Criminal Procedure Code of FBiH to the detriment of Fadil Novalić.
„For example, there is a basis for suspicion that she violated the law by committing abuse of office and the criminal offense of negligent work in service.

According to the assessment of the legal team, and bearing in mind the judge's obligation for a preliminary hearing, whose competence is to confirm the indictment, and then to refer the case to the main trial, we saw that the evidence submitted by the Prosecutor's Office indicates suspicion regarding the criminal offenses attributed to the accused, which fall under the jurisdiction of the BiH Court.

It is precisely on these criminal offenses that the BiH Court agreed to be part of the BiH Prosecutor's Office team and conduct this criminal proceeding, which resulted in a verdict detrimental to the then-suspected, now convicted individuals,“ states Jahić.

He notes that specifically in December 2020, along with the indictment submitted by the Prosecutor's Office, there were only requests for international legal assistance sent to the competent authorities of Montenegro, Serbia, Great Britain, Croatia, and Slovenia. Therefore, the request is only an indication. It is indicative that the Prosecutor's Office did not inform the Court about the evidence – SIPA's documents from the sixth, ninth, and tenth months when filing the indictment, where in June they reported that activities were undertaken to verify allegations of money laundering and conspiracy to commit a criminal offense. In September, the Prosecutor's Office received a letter from SIPA informing them that they had received information from Montenegro confirming that there were no grounds for suspicion or traces of a bank account being opened by a legal entity from China,“ Jahić stated.

What is important to emphasize is that Novalić and others were acquitted in cases where the BiH Court had actual jurisdiction.

„That is the key evidence. The key evidence confirming the basis for suspicion against judge Hadžiomerović are the final verdicts of the BiH Court, which in the case of Fadil Novalić and others, delivered final acquittals precisely on the matters we are discussing. It clearly states that the BiH Prosecutor's Office did not even deal with proving conspiracy, which is stated in the verdict, and the acquitted were acquitted on all counts of criminal offenses for which the Criminal Procedure Code establishes the actual jurisdiction of the BiH Court.

Because a judge for preliminary proceedings, upon receiving an indictment, first checks the actual jurisdiction, and this was not done,“ said Jahić.

In an interview with Patria, Jahić explained in detail the reasons for this criminal complaint, but also announced new ones, and revealed what the High Representative Christian Schmidt told them, who, after the letter from the lawyers of those convicted in the Respirators case, changed the Report he presented to the UN Security Council.

Watch the full interview: