The detention of Ibrahim Hadzibajric, the former head of the Municipality of Stari Grad in Sarajevo, was extended for another three months. This is what the Cantonal Court in Sarajevo decided on January 31st.
His detention was extended due to the risk that the suspect could influence witnesses, conceal evidence and repeat the crime if he was at large, the Cantonal Prosecutor’s Office confirmed on Friday, February 2nd.
His detention can last until April 30th, 2024 or until a new decision of the Court.
Hadzibajric was arrested in May of last year while he was the head of the Municipality of Stari Grad, from which he was later dismissed. He has been in custody since then.
Besides him, six other people were arrested.
The Prosecutor’s Office of Canton Sarajevo (CS) announced at the time that Hadzibajric was suspected of organized crime, abuse of office and money laundering.
“The detention of the suspect Hadzibajric was proposed due to the risk that he could influence witnesses, conceal evidence, and the risk of repeating the criminal offense. Alma Destanovic was proposed to be detained due to the risk of escape and the risk that she could repeat the criminal offense if she was released,” it was said then in the statement of the CS Prosecutor’s Office.
The criminal acts charged against him refer to the illegal leasing of parking spaces in the area of the Stari grad Municipality for at least three companies over which he and other suspects had control, and with which they illegally earned hundreds of thousands BAM.
He is suspected of accepting a bribe in the amount of 150,000 BAM (about 75,000 euros), Slobodna Evropa writes.
E.Dz.
