Zukić and others: Candidate did not have original documentation, but did have proof of SDA membership

The trial of the general secretary of SDA, Amir Zukić, and seven other defendants for multiple criminal offenses continued today before the Municipal Court in Sarajevo, reports Patria News Agency.

Ahmed Mutapčić, technical director of Elektrodistribucija Zenica, and Smaragda Imamović, former head of the HR department, testified in court today, while the testimony of Azra Talić was postponed because today's hearing was interrupted due to the poor health of the defendant Mirsad Kukić.

Witness Mutapčić recounted events related to the employment of Ismet Keserović in 2016. The position Keserović was to be hired for became available after the death of employee Mehmed Majdanac in the Travnik branch.

- When director Edisej Sjerotanović went on vacation, I was given the director's authority. Before he went on vacation, director Sjerotanović told me that Esed Džananović, executive director of Elektroprivreda, had called him and pressured him to hire Ismet Keserović for the position in Travnik. Sjerotanović told me he did not agree with that. Later, I also received a call from director Džananović, who told me to prepare a proposal for Keserović's employment decision – Mutapčić explained.

Mutapčić stated that Džananović was his superior, and that he listened to him, but also informed him that Sjerotanović did not agree to Keserović's employment. According to his testimony, Džananović ordered Mutapčić to implement that decision.

- After that, I called Sjerotanović and informed him of Džananović's order, as I considered it my moral obligation. About fifteen minutes later, Sjerotanović called me and said he had reconsidered and that Džananović's decision should be implemented – Mutapčić emphasized.

Mutapčić further stated that after all this, director Džananović called him and told him to prepare the documentation for Ismet Keserović, which was done. Mutapčić said he handed over the necessary documentation to Smaragda Imamović, head of the HR department, who reviewed the documents and stated that they were not original and that proof of work experience was missing.

After that, Ismet Keserović's father, Sead, brought the original documentation, and Smaragda Imamović prepared a proposal for the employment decision, which Mutapčić signed and sent a scanned copy to director Džananović's email.

The lawyer of the accused Esed Džananović, Vasvija Vidović, asked Mutapčić if Džananović had ever done anything that would cause him fear, to which Mutapčić replied that he had not. Vidović also asked Mutapčić why none of the three Elektroprivreda scholarship holders were hired after completing their studies, even though their profiles matched the required jobs. Vidović also asked Mutapčić if he remembered asking Džananović for help with hiring his wife's sister's husband. Mutapčić said he remembered.

Vasvija Vidović asked Mutapčić if his motive for testifying against Džananović, with the immunity granted by the Sarajevo Canton Prosecutor's Office, was that at the time Džananović was in custody, he was one of the candidates to take his position as executive director.

Smaragda Imamović, head of the HR department at the time these events occurred, now head of the property-legal relations department, stated that there had never been any hiring through the Employment Service. She also said that there was no hiring in 2015, despite the need, so the unfulfilled hiring was carried over to 2016.

- On July 12, 2016, secretary Azra Talić called me and said that director Mutapčić wanted to speak with me. The director told me that, on the order of executive director Džananović, a proposal for the employment decision of Ismet Keserović should be made. I told him I had never heard of that name, as I kept records of all known candidates who had previously applied for jobs or had worked on fixed-term contracts – witness Imamović explained.

Imamović recounted that she told director Mutapčić that all the necessary documentation for Ismet Keserović was missing, and that the next day she found the original documents, along with proof of work experience, on her desk in her office. After that, Smaragda Imamović prepared the proposal for the employment decision. When director Sjerotanović returned from vacation, he was surprised by the signed decision and told her that he did not intend to implement it.

Smaragda Imamović stated that in August 2016, she met with Zlatan Hadžić, assistant director for general affairs, and handed him Keserović's documentation. Among the documents, there was no original documentation, but there was a paper indicating SDA membership.

Lawyer Vidović asked Smaragda Imamović if she had any knowledge that director Džananović had influenced the non-hiring of three scholarship holders, to which the witness replied that she had no such knowledge.

The hearing of the third witness, secretary Azra Talić, did not take place because the defendant Mirsad Kukić complained of health issues, so her testimony will be heard at a future hearing.

We remind you that the indictment charges Amir Zukić, Safet Bibić, Nedžad and Senad Trako, and Ramiz Karavdić with conspiracy to commit criminal offenses related to receiving rewards or other benefits for influence peddling and illegal mediation.

The indictment states that Zukić and Bibić organized a group in 2016, joined by Nedžad and Senad Trako and Ramiz Karavdić, who found individuals willing to pay money for employment in the branches of Elektrodistribucija, which belongs to JP Elektroprivreda BiH. Subsequently, using their influence through Esed Džananović, then director of Elektrodistribucija, who is charged with abuse of office, illegal employments were carried out.

The same indictment charges Asim Sarajlić and Mirsad Kukić, vice-presidents of SDA, with receiving rewards or other benefits for influence peddling, while Zukić is also charged with illegal possession of weapons.

The Municipal Court in Sarajevo has not set a date for the continuation of the trial, and the public and parties to the proceedings will be informed later.