At a plea hearing held today in the Tasim Kučević and others case before a preliminary hearing judge of Section II for Organized Crime, Economic Crime and Corruption of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), all of the accused pleaded not guilty to all counts in the indictment. The case will shortly be forwarded to a trial panel which will carry out the necessary preparations and schedule the main trial within the legally prescribed deadline.

The indictment filed by the Office of the Prosecutor of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) charges the accused with the following criminal offenses:

1. Accused Tasim Kučević and Meliha Pjević:

organized crime pursuant to article 250, paragraph 3. of the Criminal Code (CC) of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in connection with the offenses of:

• trafficking in persons pursuant to article 186, para. 1 of CC BiH, international procuring in prostitution pursuant to article 187, paragraph 1 of CC BiH, pandering pursuant to article 210 para 1 of CC of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH), tax evasion pursuant to article 273, paragraph 1 of CC FBiH and money laundering pursuant to article 209, para 1 of CC BiH.

2. Accused Enver Spahić, Zoran Trbara, Admir Fazlić, Mirzet Đulović, Nedžad Đulović, Almir Šabić, Mirsad Mujkić, Edževit Glusinac:

organized crime pursuant to article 250 of CC BiH in connection with the offenses of:

• trafficking in persons pursuant to article 186, para. 1 of CC BiH and pandering pursuant to article 210 para 1 of CC FBiH.