The trial in the "Respirators" affair continued in the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina in connection with the procurement of 100 respirators worth 10,530,000 KM, which were imported from China by the company "Srebrena Malina", owned by Fikret Hodžić, for the needs of the Federal Administration of Civil Protection. Today, the director of the Clinical Center of the University of Sarajevo, Sebija Izetbegović and Denis Đulalić, testify.

10.40

The prosecutor asked Izetbegović why Drager respirators were her favorite if she said she was not qualified.

- Wherever I went on education, everyone had Drager, it's like when you like a song you grow up with. It is my favorite because I grew up with it. We also worked with Mindra, Make respirators, we had no problems. I didn’t know I was going to talk about it today.

When asked how can Drager be her favorite if she is not an expert on respirators, she replied:

- Of all the cars, my favorite is the Bentley, but I can't drive it.

- Has KCUS ever decided to procure these respirators before?

- We had enough respirators before the pandemic. We had Drager, Mindre and Make.

Did you communicate with Novalić or any other Government employee about procuring tests?

- I do not remember.

The prosecutor presented the correspondence via Viber between Novalić and Kalajdžić, in which Sebija is also mentioned, and the prosecutor asked her whether she was communicating with Novalić or Solak about the procurement of tests.

-No- Izetbegović replied.

The text of one of the messages read: "SEBIJA 20.52 Solak will have to take power, respirators and tests must calm the population. This is getting worse."

Lawyer Dobojlić warned that manipulation could occur.

Izetbegović's interrogation is over, there is a break of ten minutes.

10.22

Kadrija Kolić, Solak's lawyer, started the interrogation.

It is concluded that these respirators were used to save lives of patients with coronavirus.

- All respirators are in operation, but they were put in operation only after they have been verified.

Fikret Hodžić's defense had no questions. Jelka Miličević's defense did not have any questions either.

10.20

Are these respirators used in KCUS?

- Yes, at the moment 30 respirators are in operation in the invasive and non-invasive center.

10.10

Vasvija Vidović, Novalić's lawyer, asked Izetbegović if he knew that the United States had introduced a ban on the import of respirators.

- I learned that from colleagues who studied with me and now work in America.

Was B&H out of the situation in the world?

- In November 2019., I received information from colleagues around the world that something was happening in China. I knew we wouldn’t go on skiing in January because it would expand. In January, we felt that there will be a huge problem, when it was transferred from Croatia and Austria to B&H. A huge number of respirators were occupied and on January 31st we made a crisis headquarters, the first in the country, we felt the danger.

Have you been able to choose the type of respirator or worry about the price?

- Nobody asked us about the quality, specification or price of the respirator. We received instructions in the form of a simple table, how many respirators we need.

Where is Drager produced?

It is produced in Germany and was out of the question. Chinese respirators have been bought before. Drager is my favorite and it is the best.

Respirators from Europe and the US were not available?

- No, according to my information.

10.05

Have you consulted with respirator quality services?

- How will I consult with them when I am not the one buying them. I only consult for things I need to sign.

Have you ever heard of "Srebrna malina" before? – No. Never.

Have you ever had communication with someone from "Srebrna malina?"

-No.

The prosecutor finished interogating the witness.

10.00

The prosecutor showed communication via Viber from April 28th, which Edita Kalajdžić sent to another witness, Hasan Ganibegović:

 „Seb. is caling

respirators are bad,

it's horror,

we are in a huge problem,

if it's true,

and it probably is. „

Did you talk to Edita Kalajdžić about the quality of the respirator, the prosecutor asked.

- My name is not here. I am not qualified to comment on the quality of the respirator. In one communication with Kalajdžić, I commented on what I saw in the picture, different numbers - said Izetbegović.

9.50

When asked by the prosecutor whether she commented on the quality of the respirator with Kalajdžić, Izetbegović answered:

- I am a gynecologist, I do not deal with respirators.

9.40

Prosecutor Džerman Pašić presented an official document that came to the KCUS, as Exhibit 9 from the indictment.

This is an official e-mail from 1.4.2020 from the office of the Prime Minister of the FB&H Government, which was sent to KCUS.

Can you remember now if anyone asked you for an opinion on purchasing respirators?

- I'm not sure I remember this. I absolutely don't remember this.

Who is Vildana which is mentioned in the email?

- There are a lot of Vildana's in KCUS. I see this for the first time, absolutely.

Is this the official e-mail address of the KCUS director's office?

-Yes, it is.

Does this mean you are not entering this into official protocol?

- Only what comes in the official protocol is recorded.

9.30

The prosecutor read what was stated in the subject of the respirators procurement contract.

Do you remember the price of the respirators that was defined by the contract?

-No.

In relation to the invitation which, according to Article 21 of the Law on Public Procurement, is an invitation for an urgent negotiated procedure, how much time has passed from the invitation to the conclusion of the contract?

- Well, I don't know that.

How was the method of payment envisaged, were those KCUS funds?

- I do not remember.

In relation to the need to purchase respirators, did you talk to the Prime Minister of the FB&H?

- I don't remember specifically talking to the Prime Minister, as far as I remember I didn't, but I talked to every living person, my neighbors, my hairdresser that we need respirators.

Have you talked to the director of FCPA about this topic?

-No.

Did you talk to any other FB&H Government employees?

- Yes, with Marina Bero, the doctor, she sent me the form. She told me that she would send me an urgent request. Once again, we received an invitation in writing to state the needs of the Clinical Center.

Have anyone consulted you about the types of respirators that should be procured?

-No.

9.20

I did not act according to the decision of the FB&H Government because I did not understand Mr. Salčin's explanation at that session, said Sebija Izetbegović, director of the Clinical Center of the University of Sarajevo, at today's hearing in the Court of BiH.

- Our decision was that we could still endure at that moment and that it was not necessary for us to enter that process, which was unclear to us. At that time, we had 112 respirators in the entire clinical center - said Izetbegović.

The prosecutor asked her if she remembers the details of the contract with the company "Kubikus".

- I don't remember the details, I think that company was one of the bidders - said Izetbegović.

She added that she thinks it was a matter of procuring a respirator.