The closing arguments of the prosecution and defense were presented today at the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the case against Milorad Dodik, President of Republika Srpska, and Miloš Lukić, former acting director of the Official Gazette of the RS, for disobeying the decisions of the High Representative.
The Prosecutor’s Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina has requested a prison sentence and a ten-year ban from holding public office for Milorad Dodik and Miloš Lukić. The Prosecutor’s Office has proposed that the imposed sentence be closer to the maximum rather than the minimum sentence.
Milorad Dodik’s defense has requested an acquittal, stating that Dodik’s actions did not cause any harmful consequences.
In his closing arguments at the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, President of Republika Srpska Milorad Dodik emphasized that the process against him is “classic abuse and that he is ready to go to the end in a political fight”, and reiterated his position that this is a political process.
“It’s a pity that the Prosecutor’s Office brought in Schmidt instead of me, who violates the Constitution, but this can cause bigger problems. I am not threatening, but I am ready to go to the end in a political fight,” Dodik said.
Dodik says that he is “the only man in Europe who is being tried for a criminal act that was not adopted by parliament, but was passed by decision,” reminding that laws can only be passed by parliaments and that they cannot be changed by decisions.
“No one can be held accountable for a criminal act prescribed by a decision, there is no law for the criminal act for which I am being tried,” Dodik stressed.
He said that “the Prosecutor’s Office of BiH is violating the Constitution,” and assessed that everything was done to remove him from the political scene.
Dodik believes that this process, as he says, is a classic abuse, that everything is “a farce, an absurd and complex process,” stating that he acted in accordance with the Constitution of Republika Srpska, and automatically the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
“It is shameful that the BiH Prosecutor’s Office is defending Šmit against me, a citizen of BiH,” Dodik pointed out, and asked the Prosecutor’s Office in whose name they are working and why they are afraid of foreigners.
Dodik said that the dispute is of a constitutional-legal, political-legal and international-legal nature, but not of a criminal-legal nature.
He said that the BiH Prosecutor’s Office should have made an effort to establish the factual situation, given that it is not the one who forwards the signed decrees to the “Official Gazette” but returns them to the Secretary General of the National Assembly of Republika Srpska (NSRS).
“The act that we are charged with was not brought by the legislator, but by a decision brought by Schmidt, that is, a person who was not appointed in accordance with Annex 10,” Dodik noted, adding that Schmidt, even if appointed, does not have the authority to exercise legislative power.
He also referred to the words of Judge Sena Uzunović that the proceedings are being conducted against an individual, and stated that he is in the Court of BiH only because he is the President and has acted in accordance with the Constitution.
He thanked the prosecutors for confirming this in their closing arguments, noting that he represents 300,000 people who voted for him.
Dodik said that Republika Srpska is a party to the Dayton Agreement and that he has done everything for the sake of the interests and protection of that party.
“My perception is important for my decisions. When a German comes to tell us Serbs a story, he is an enemy to me,” Dodik emphasized.
He added that he is in the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina as someone who represents Republika Srpska, but that it is a humiliation to be placed in the category of a criminal.
He expressed satisfaction that Judge Uzunović said that she would respect the legal facts in these proceedings, and that he has no problem with that, as well as that he is confident in her professional ability.
