Former Minister of Security of BiH Dragan Mektic was acquitted Thursday by the first instance verdict of the Court of BiH of the accusation of abuse of office during the implementation of the cross-border cooperation project in the field of firefighting.

Apart from Mektic, Igor Golijanin, Samir Agic and Edin Garaplija were also acquitted.

The Prosecutor's Office of BiH charged them with gaining illegal property gain, which caused total damage of over 200,000 Bosnian marks (some €98,000).

The project in question was related to the procurement of firefighting equipment, hiring people, as well as the procurement procedure of materials from interested parties and close relatives, which resulted in illegal property gain.

Mektic was acquitted of charges of abusing his position as Security Minister, Golianin as Mektic's chief of staff, Agic as assistant minister, while Garaplija was acquitted as the responsible person and owner of the Inza Institute for Fire and Explosion Protection, Sarajevo.