The President of the Republika Srpska Milorad Dodik and acting of the director of the Official Gazette, Miloš Lukić stated that they did not understand the indictment, to which judge Jasmina Ćosić Dedović, ex officio, announced that this meant that they pleaded not guilty.
During the beginning of the trial, Dodik also referred to the atmosphere in the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina and said that the flag of the RS was not displayed in the Court, but only the flags of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
In addition, during the plea, Dodik refused to stand up and stated that his back hurt.
Also, the president of the RS had an objection to the fact that he received the indictment in Latin, not in Cyrillic.
Also, Dodik was procedurally asked to confirm the veracity of personal data. Asked if the date and place of birth were correct, Dodik said:
“I have no idea, I was a minor. If that’s what it says in the birth certificate, then it’s true,” he declared.
Dodik’s lawyer said that the accused cannot testify about the indictment that he does not understand, to which the judge said that in accordance with the law, the accused declares his understanding of the indictment at the first hearing of the main trial and that the question will be asked at that hearing.
