In one hour, 400 citizens signed in support of Dr. Gavrankapetanović and KCUS doctors

In just one hour, about 400 citizens of Sarajevo signed a book of support for Dr. Ismet Gavrankaptanović and other doctors at KCUS, after the doctors warned that in recent days they have been experiencing enormous mobbing and pressure from the KCUS management, the Patria agency reports.

Dr. Gavrankapetanović is a leading European orthopedist. After he was dismissed from the position of Head of the Clinic for Orthopedics and Traumatology at KCUS a few weeks ago by the Supervisory Board and KCUS manager Dr. Sebija Izetbegović, without providing any explanation to the public for the dismissal, this caused sharp reactions among citizens.

Doctors from KCUS who opposed the dismissal of Dr. Gavrankapetanović claim that the KCUS management is now pressuring them to withdraw their signatures of support...

Citizens who supported Dr. Gavrankapetanović and his colleagues today believe that by signing, they are contributing to the fight for better healthcare in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Among those who signed the book of support are a large number of public figures, as well as doctors from Sarajevo health centers.

Some of the leading European doctors have also previously warned about the unargued dismissal and pressure on doctors at KCUS.

A few days before today's petition, a group of intellectuals, journalists, and other public figures from all over BiH sent an open letter to the public and institutions in the country demanding the dismissal of the entire KCUS management and the restoration of respect for professional principles at the largest healthcare institution in BiH.

Dr. Izetbegović took over the leadership of KCUS in January 2016, due to the strong political support she has from the ruling SDA. Izetbegović is the wife of the SDA president and member of the Presidency of BiH from the Bosniak people, Bakir Izetbegović.

Within just a few months of her appointment, contracts were terminated at KCUS, or some of the leading doctors who had been working at Koševo until then left. Dr. Izetbegović justifies her radical moves by stating that some doctors were not working with sufficient quality and that they often abused their positions.

An audio recording leaked to the public in which Dr. Izetbegović can be heard threatening an employee at KCUS, saying she would rip out his throat.

"I hear again that you have taken my name in vain, you will remember me for the rest of your life," Sebija Izetbegović warned that person.

Dr. Ismet Gavrankapetanović graduated from the Faculty of Medicine in Sarajevo in 1986. He defended his doctoral thesis in 1998. He is a member of numerous domestic and international medical associations, including the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, he is a member of the Royal College of Surgeons of London, the British Orthopaedic Association, the European Society for Sports Traumatology, Knee Surgery and Arthroscopy, he is a member of the British Elbow and Shoulder Society...

He previously warned the media that he is not interested in the position of head. He said that he only wants expertise, not politics, to decide at KCUS, as is currently the case.