In February 2020, a leaked audio recording revealed an alleged case of vote buying and influence peddling involving Asim Sarajlić, the then vice-president of the Party of Democratic Action, SDA, and two other individuals. The scandal, dubbed the Asim affair, caused widespread indignation and prompted an indictment by the public prosecutor. The ensuing trial, however, resulted in a first-instance verdict acquitting the three defendants. They are now awaiting a re-trial, after the cantonal court in Sarajevo accepted the appeal of the cantonal prosecutor’s office.

On 25 February 2020, on the eve of the internal party elections for the president of the SDA's Sarajevo canton board, Asim Sarajlić (vice-president of SDA, president of SDA's personnel committee, and delegate in the House of Peoples of the BiH Parliament), Sabahudin Delalić (member of the Executive board of the municipal organisation of SDA Novi Grad Sarajevo), and Muhamed Šehović (SDA's former technical secretary) convened a secret meeting with Velid Tvrtković, a delegate of SDA's Sarajevo canton election assembly. Šehović, acting as an intermediary, invited Tvrtković to the secretive meeting and drove him to an undisclosed location where they met with Sarajlić and Delalić in a car. Sarajlić, Delalić and Šehović then allegedly offered to secure employment for Tvrtković's wife in one of the institutions where SDA cadres hold leadership roles, leveraging their party connections and positions. In return, they sought Tvrtković's vote for their candidate, Fikret Prevljak, over Semir Efendić, the other contender running for the presidential post (see here).

Tvrtković, citing safety concerns, secretly recorded the conversation about the attempted vote-buying with his mobile phone and provided the audio recording to Semir Efendić. Following the election and victory of Fikret Prevljak, Efendić uploaded an edited version of the audio recording to his Facebook page. In addition to the attempted vote-buying, the recorded conversation disclosed details of previous instances of staffing, lobbying and illicit employment carried out by the SDA officials.

The release of the audio recording rocked the SDA party and sparked public outrage, prompting Asim Sarajlić to resign from his positions within the party, although he retained his seat as a delegate in BiH's parliament. Sarajlić explained his resignation, saying he was aware of his mistakes and wasn't looking to justify them.

The prosecutor's office of the Sarajevo canton issued an indictment on 10 December 2021, charging Asim Sarajlić, Sabahudin Delalić and Muhamed Šehović with the criminal offence of ‘giving a gift and other forms of benefit’ to buy votes and influence. The three defendants all pleaded not guilty to the charges before the municipal court in Sarajevo.

The main trial, which began in August 2022, resulted in a first-instance verdict issued by the municipal court in Sarajevo in February 2023, acquitting the three defendants of all charges.

During the sentencing, Judge Amela Skrobo Kadrić explained that the prosecution failed to prove the charges of co-perpetration. The judge then ruled that the main evidence, namely the audio recording of the conversation, was illegally obtained and therefore inadmissible as it violated Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, pertaining to the respect for privacy. The recording was made in a private space – a car – without the knowledge of those present. The court also ruled all other evidence originating from the illegal recording as inadmissible as it was also deemed as tainted (in accordance with the ‘fruit-of-the-poisonous-tree’ principle.

The court also questioned why Tvrtković did not report the alleged vote manipulation to the authorities when he first became aware of it, also considering that he testified that he feared for his safety. Additionally, the judge clarified that even if the recording were obtained legally, the court found issues with its authenticity and quality. Furthermore, it remained unclear whether the original audio file had been modified as the mobile phone that recorded it was handed over more than a month after the recording was made. The edited audio file published by Efendić was also deemed illegal, unauthentic and unreliable (see here)

Reacting to the verdict, Semir Efendić questioned why an indictment was filed and confirmed in the first place when the circumstances about how the audio recording was obtained were known from the beginning.

On 30 June 2023, the cantonal prosecutor's office in Sarajevo filed an appeal with the cantonal court in Sarajevo against the first-instance verdict. As grounds for the complaint, the prosecution cited ‘a significant violation of the provisions of the criminal procedure, violation of the criminal code, and incorrect or incomplete determination of the factual situation’.

The cantonal court in Sarajevo accepted the prosecutor’s appeal in October 2024 against the first-instance verdict of the Sarajevo municipal court, which means that there will be a re-trial for Asim Sarajlić, Sabahudin Delalić, and Muhamed Šehović.

This was not the first time Asim Sarajlić was accused of corruption. Sarajlić was among the SDA members who faced trial on charges of illegal employment mediation in public companies in 2016, but he was ultimately acquitted. In April 2022, the US Department of the Treasury imposed sanctions against Sarajlić for corrupt behaviour, explicitly mentioning the ‘Asim affair’ along with ongoing indictments related to additional corruption charges.

The Asim affair shed further light on the practice of misusing public resources to advance party interests, such as illicit public sector employment of party affiliates or persons offering gifts, favours or political allegiance. Nonetheless, the judiciary’s repeated failure to prosecute and hold politically exposed persons accountable has significantly undermined public trust in the rule of law, contributing to the perception of political actors as being immune from prosecution.