In a second-instance verdict, the District Court in Banja Luka sentenced Dragan Lukač, the former Minister of Internal Affairs of Republika Srpska, to a three-month prison sentence for inflicting physical injuries on Draško Stanivuković, a former member of parliament and the current mayor of Banja Luka.
They confirmed this from the Banjaluka District Public Prosecutor’s Office and stated that this verdict was passed after the Prosecutor’s Office appealed the first-instance verdict, in which Lukač was sentenced to a fine.
“By the judgment of the Basic Court in Banja Luka dated March 17 this year, the accused Dragan Lukač was found guilty of the criminal offense of bodily injury, for which he was fined 300 BAM, and was acquitted of the criminal offense of endangering security The District Public Prosecutor’s Office of Banjaluka filed an appeal against the said verdict, which was accepted by the District Court in Banjaluka,” according to the aforementioned prosecutor’s office.
After that, the District Court, as they state, changed the judgment of the Basic Court in the decision on the punishment, and the fine was changed to a prison sentence of three months, while in the other part it confirmed the judgment of the Basic Court in Banja Luka.
Let us recall that, according to the indictment, the Banja Luka District Prosecutor’s Office charged Lukač with attacking Stanivuković on December 23, 2019 at around 10 p.m. during a special session of the Republika Srpska parliament, which was broadcast directly by the public media service RTRS-Plus and BN TV.
Lukač then insulted Stanivuković, after which he slapped him, and according to the Criminal Code of the Republic of Srpska, Lukač faced a maximum sentence of two years in prison.
The Basic Court of Banja Luka confirmed the indictment in May 2021, while in March of this year it sentenced Lukač to a fine of 300 marks.