The trial of former Intelligence-Security Agency (OSA) of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) director Osman Mehmedagic has begun with the reading of the indictment and opening statements. Mehmedagic is accused of abusing his position to remain in office despite not meeting the necessary qualifications.
The indictment charges Mehmedagic with serving as OSA director from 2019, when his diploma from the Faculty of Business Studies in Banja Luka was annulled, until 2023, when he was removed from office, despite lacking the required higher education degree.
“He conceals the fact that he no longer has a diploma; however, what he does is use his position to hide this fact,” prosecutor Sanja Ljuboje Romic stated in her opening remarks.
According to the indictment, Mehmedagic issued an instruction marking all personnel files of OSA employees, including his own, as “confidential.” The prosecutor emphasized that diplomas are public documents that cannot be classified as secret.
The indictment further states that when the parliamentary commission summoned Mehmedagic to clarify allegations that he did not meet the legally prescribed conditions to serve as OSA director, he submitted two diplomas, misleading commission members.
“One was a degree from the Faculty of Law in Sarajevo, and the other was a bachelor’s degree in international law from the American University in Tuzla, despite knowing that he had never studied at the American University nor obtained any qualifications there. He acquired this diploma in an unknown manner,” the indictment states.
It is also noted that the defendant marked his response to the parliamentary commission as “confidential,” intending to limit access to the documents and prevent their forwarding to other authorities.
According to the indictment, Mehmedagic‘s abuse of office resulted in personal earnings totaling 293.000 BAM. Prosecutor Ljuboje Romic emphasized that, beyond the financial damage to the budget, he also harmed BiH‘s reputation by holding a position for which he was unqualified in an agency handling highly serious matters.
The prosecutor described the offense as a case of high-level corruption.
The defense stated that they would not present an opening statement until the prosecution presents its evidence.
“At this moment, I can only say that we will prove that our client did not commit the criminal offense he is accused of,” said defense attorney Senka Nozica.
The hearing of the first witness is scheduled for April 15th.
