On 5 April 2023 the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina delivered and pronounced a Trial Judgment in the case of Fadil Novalić et al.

Judgment of Conviction

The accused Fadil Novalić, Fahrudin Solak and Fikret Hodžić have been found guilty, and the legal entity “F.H. Srebrena malina” d.o.o. Sućeska, Srebrenica, represented by its responsible person – the third-accused Fikret Hodžić, has been found responsible, that by the acts described in the convicting part of the Judgment they committed the continued criminal offense of Abuse of Office or Official Authority under Article 383 of the Criminal Code of the BiH Federation (CC FBiH), and the accused Fahrudin Solak also the criminal offense of Forging of Official Document under Article 389 of the Code.

For the foregoing criminal offenses, the Court imposed on the accused the sentences as follows:

• Fadil Novalić – a sentence of four (4) years of imprisonment. The time during which the accused was deprived of liberty, from 29 May 2020 to 31 May 2020, shall be credited towards his sentence of imprisonment;
• Fahrudin Solak – for the committed continued criminal offense of Abuse of Office or Official Authority under Article 383 CC FBiH, a sentence of five (5) years of imprisonment, and for the criminal offense of Forging of Official Document under Article 389 CC FBiH, a sentence of one (1) year and six (6) months of imprisonment, after which the Court imposed on the accused Fahrudin Solak a compound sentence of six (6) years of imprisonment. The time during which the accused was deprived of liberty, from 28 May 2020 to 31 May 2020, shall be credited towards his sentence of imprisonment;
• Fikret Hodžić – a sentence of five (5) years of imprisonment. The time during which the accused was deprived of liberty, from 28 May 2020 to 31 May 2020, shall be credited towards his sentence of imprisonment;
• the legal entity “F.H. Srebrena malina” o.o. Sućeska, Srebrenica, a fine in the amount of 200,000.00 BAM.

The ill-gotten gain in the amount of 694,747.78 BAM shall be confiscated from the accused Fikret Hodžić and the legal entity “F.H. Srebrena malina“ d.o.o., Sućeska, Srebrenica, part of which, in the amount of 87,000.00 KM, has already been seized under   a receipt of seizure of items, issued by the Sarajevo Canton Ministry of Internal Affairs.

The Court also imposed on the accused Fadil Novalić and Fikret Hodžić a security measure of confiscation of instrumentalities.

Acquittal

The accused Fadil Novalić, Fahrudin Solak, Fikret Hodžić and the legal entity “F.H. Srebrena malina” d.o.o. Sućeska, Srebrenica, have been acquitted of the charges that by the acts described in the acquittal they committed the criminal offense of Associating for the Purpose of Perpetrating Criminal Offences under Article 249 CC BiH, as read with the criminal offenses of Abuse of Office or Official Authority under Article 383 CC FBiH, Accepting Reward or Other Forms of Benefit for Trading in Influence under Article 219 CC BiH, Money Laundering under Article 209 CC BiH, Counterfeiting or Destruction of Business or Trade Books or Documents under Article 261 CC FBiH, Forging of Official Document under Article 389 CC FBiH, and Infringement of Keeping Business and Commercial Books and Making of Financial Reports and their Forfeiting or Destroying under Article 262 CC RS.

The accused Jelka Milićević has been acquitted of charges that by the acts described in the acquittal she committed the criminal offense of Negligent Performance of Duty under Article 387 CC FBiH.

The Court advised the aggrieved party – the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, represented by the Public Attorney’s Office of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina – to pursue its possible redress claim in civil proceedings.

In relation to the conviction, the accused are under an obligation to reimburse the costs of criminal proceedings, whose amount the court will determine by a separate decision once it has obtained the necessary data, whereas the costs of the criminal proceedings in relation to the acquittal shall be covered from within the Court’s budget appropriations.

An appeal from the Judgment may be filed with the Appellate Division Panel within 15 days of the day when a written copy thereof was received.