The Cantonal Court in Bihać has issued a first-instance verdict against Fikret Abdić, the former mayor of Velika Kladuša, sentencing him to three years and six months in prison for abuse of office.
The court found that during his term of office from 2017 to 2020, Abdić provided illegal financial benefits to other persons, thereby causing damage to the municipal budget.
In addition to the prison sentence, Abdić is required to compensate the Municipality of Velika Kladuša in the amount of 487,907 BAM, and the money must be returned within 30 days of the verdict becoming final.
The sentence will also include the period he spent in detention, from June 18 to October 29, 2020. The court acquitted him of certain counts of the indictment.
