(MENAFN- The Journal Of Turkish Weekly) Bosnia's State Prosecution said the recently arrested politician Fahrudin Radoncic put pressure on Azra Saric - a witness in the trial of the alleged drugs baron Naser Kelmendi in Kosovo - so that she would give false testimony which is why it has sought detention for him for one month.
Prosecutor Emir Neradin presented the Court with transcripts of wiretapped conversations messages and declarations of two witnesses Bakir Dautbasic and Bilsena Sahman which he said showed they put pressure on Saric on Radoncic's orders.
The Prosecution of Bosnia and Herzegovina says Radoncic must be kept in detention as he might influence witnesses and destroy or hide evidence if left at liberty.
Radoncic head of the Alliance for a Better Future of Bosnia and Herzegovina SBBBiH and a delegate to the House of Peoples in Bosnia's parliament was arrested on Monday by the State Protection and Investigation Agency SIPA accused of having obstructed the work of the judiciary.
Two weeks earlier Bosnian authorities accused a member of Radoncic's party Bakir Dautbasic and his partner Bilsena Sahman of the same offence. The Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina ordered detention for both of them.
According to the reconstruction made by the Prosecution Dautbasic and Sahman were in contact with Saric to persuade her to give false witness in Kosovo about the circumstances of the murder of Ramiz Delalic - one of the charges against Kelmendi.
Prosecutors said the couple told Saric not to mention Radoncic during her deposition.
"The boss is asking you to protect Naser as well" Sahman told Saric according to the Prosecutors.
Saric had to testify by video in December for the Kelmendi trial in Pristina. She said she did not agree to Dautbasic's and Sahman's request and claimed she was threatened as a result.
From that moment prosecutors said Radoncic started a media campaign against Saric in the pages of the newspaper he owns Dnevni Avaz.
Dautbasic and Sahman have denied Saric's claim. In their statements Dautbasic and Sahman declared that Saric took the initiative to come to them to inform them about her deposition and sought a favour from Radoncic in return.
Dautbasic and Sahman then transmitted their statements to SIPA.
According to the prosecution they met the editor of the Federation entity TV Duska Jurisic who then met the General Prosecutor of the Sarajevo Prosecution Dalida Burzic who then opened an investigation.
The Prosecution says Radoncic - through Dautbasic - got an employee of the US embassy in Bosnia Zijad Hadzijahic to discover whether an investigation had been opened in connection with the pressure put on Saric and in that case to get this investigation closed and intimidate the prosecutors.
In exchange according to the prosecutors Hadzijahic's wife was offered the post of Bosnian ambassador in Slovenia or another country in Western Europe.
"Everything has been carried out in order to nominate her and the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina has nominated her [as ambassador]" Prosecutor Bozo Mihajlovic said adding that this was proposed by the Bosniak member of the Presidency Bakir Izetbegovic.
Replying to the Prosecution Radoncic he was the victim of "a purely political trial."
His lawyers say Radoncic should be allowed to defend himself without being detained claiming that Saric is not an essential witness and did not mention Radoncic in any of her statements. She just declared Radoncic's lawyers claim that Delalic and Kelmendi were enemies.
"This witness is absolutely irrelevant" defence lawyer Dragan Barbaric said adding that in the trial of Muhamed Ali Gasi [a Bosnian citizen convicted for organized crime] in Sarajevo Radoncic was never linked to Delalic's murder.
After Saric eventually testified in January the session was closed to the public in Kosovo. For this reason Vidovic another lawyer for Radoncic has asked for disclosure of the transcription of the deposition. "I believe Saric has said the same" Vidovic added.
The Court is due to decide on whether to detain Radoncic or not on Thursday.