BiH judiciary was under great internal and international pressure over the past several years and it is no wonder the BiH Court made a controversial decision in the “Ventilators” case, lawyer and journalist Senad Pecanin told N1 commenting on the first-instance verdict in the case against the Federation (FBiH) entity Prime Minister Fadil Novalic, Fikret Hodzic, the owner of Srebrena Malina and Fahrudin Solak, the suspended director of the FBiH Civil Protection Administration and FBiH Finance Minister Jelka Milicevic.
“I wasn't surprised by the verdict. I can say that it was expected, that it was controversial as a whole trial, and that it's very important for BiH for the judiciary and the rule of law in BiH,” Pecanin said and offered an explanation as to why it is controversial.
“The entire trial has one big stain, not only legal but also in the dimension of pure humaneness. Namely, the Prosecutor's Office of BiH has some major omissions and it did not even try to determine how many lives were lost by these omissions with the procurement of those ventilators,” he said.
“First of all, I think it's highly debatable that the General Manager of the University Clinical Hospital in Sarajevo, Sebija Izetbegovic, wasn't among the accused. Because we saw through the investigative process, the testimonies and the material evidence that was presented to the Prosecutor's Office that she had a clear role and that she was one of the key actors in the procurement of ventilators in this way. This would not have happened if Sebija had not asked for it, nor would Srebrena malina have procured them. There are indications that place her on this list of accused individuals,” Pecanin noted.
“One piece of evidence was presented where she is mentioned as “Sebi” and that she, as a witness, said that her name is Sebija. If there's a person called Sebi, but it's not her, and she participated in ordering the respirator, then …”
He added that if this verdict and the previous revocation of Sebija Izetbegovic's Master of Science degree are used for a political showdown with the Democratic Action Party (SDA) of which she is a member and whose husband is the leader of that party, Bakir Izetbegovic, then it the trial is not a project that will stabilize conditions in Bosnia and establish a rule of law.
Pressures on the BiH judiciary
“There were two types of pressure on the Court and the Prosecutor's Office. The first is from the Islamic Community in BiH, Bosniak circles, and the SDA, which presented the case as a conspiracy against Bosniaks. That's what they said publicly and in the media. That's the pressure. A public claim without any evidence is a pressure of the first order. Another type of pressure is, in this case, the pressure from the US Embassy in BiH. You'll remember that they named the prosecutors who handled this case as heroes of the month. This is unacceptable, even if it was the US Embassy. It's a form of pressure and a clear message of support to the prosecutors,” Pecanin explained.
He said that it is clear to everyone that the BiH Prosecutor's Office acts as a prosecutor's office that is responsible for only one part of the FBiH, and that is the part where the SDA was in power.
“The same abuse and theft are found in the Republika Srpska entity, the independent media wrote about it. The BiH Prosecutor's Office has not shown any enthusiasm to take over the case. When it comes to Herzegovina, where the Croat Democratic Union (HDZ BiH) is in power, there are no such activities, either,” Pecanin told N1.
One of the causes is the fact, he said, that political pluralism in BiH exists in the part of BiH where Bosniaks are the most numerous. He said that the most professional media, intellectuals and the most money is in that part of Bosnia, in contrast to the homogenous influence where the HDZ and the RS majority party the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats (SNSD) are in power.
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