The trial of former Croat member of the Bosnian presidency Ante Jelavic, who is one of several indictees in the Hercegovacka Banka trial and in the trial of persons who planned to establish the Croatian People's Self-Rule, are "evident attempts by some circles to put Dragan Covic on trial", the HDZ BiH presidency said in a press release on Thursday.
The trials against several high-profile Croat officials in Bosnia are "evidently politically-motivated trials" with the aim of "intimidating political representatives of Croats in Bosnia-Herzegovina", read the conclusions of the HDZ BiH Presidency that held a session late on Wednesday.
Local media have reported earlier that several charges have been pressed against Covic on suspicion that he committed white-collar crimes during 2000 when he was Finance Minister in the government led by Edhem Bicakcic.
Bicakcic has also been mentioned in the media as a senior Bosniak (Bosnian Muslim) official believed to be involved in corruption.
Covic and Bicakcic have so far enjoyed immunity. The Constitutional Court is expected to decide whether they will be stripped of immunity or not in late October.
The HDZ BiH presidency also concluded that the arrangement of trials during recent local elections and launching proceedings because of somebody's political standpoints and decisions "affects the election process, and undermines and stems the development of democracy in Bosnia-Herzegovina, bringing into question the independence of the judicial authorities in the country".