Republika Srpska President Milorad Dodik said today in Budapest that he came to visit Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who offered him support after the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina finally convicted him for failing to implement the decisions of the High Representative in BiH.
“Today I am visiting my friend Viktor Orban, a leader who clearly and courageously stands by the will of the people, democracy and sovereignty. I am grateful to him for his support for Republika Srpska and his clear messages to respect what the people choose, not what the unelected impose,” Dodik wrote on X.
Dodik, who came to Budapest with BiH Presidency member Željka Cvijanović, said that his and Orban’s fight are the same – “to stop the abuses of the judiciary and the arbitrariness of the deep state.”
“The end of that is near. The power of the people is returning to Europe, and with it justice. Freedom will prevail, democracy will prevail,” Dodik said.
The Appellate Chamber of the Court of BiH upheld the first-instance verdict against Dodik last week, sentencing him to one year in prison and a six-year ban on holding office for failing to implement the decisions of the High Representative in BiH.
Dodik was found guilty of signing a decree promulgating a law that the High Representative in BiH, Christian Schmidt, had previously annulled. With these laws, the authorities of Republika Srpska wanted to prevent the implementation of the decisions of the Constitutional Court of BiH and the High Representative in BiH on the territory of that entity.
Orban has supported Dodik in recent days in social media posts, stating that Hungary “does not recognize the verdict” of the Court of BiH. The Hungarian leader has previously supported Dodik, blocking attempts by the European Union to impose sanctions on him.
Upon receiving the final verdict on August 1, Dodik stated that he did not accept it, that it was “created by the European Union” and that the Assembly of Republika Srpska would decide on it. The parliament had earlier, the day after the first-instance verdict against Dodik was pronounced in late February, passed laws banning the operation of the Court of BiH and the Prosecutor’s Office of BiH in Republika Srpska.
The BiH Central Election Commission will tomorrow strip Dodik of his mandate as President of the RS. According to the BiH Election Law, the Central Election Commission then has 90 days to call early elections for the President of Republika Srpska. Dodik has stated that he will not allow such elections to be held.
