One year after the start of the trial, the Court of BiH is ready to pronounce the first-instance verdict against the President of Republika Srpska Milorad Dodik for disobeying the decisions of the High Representative. After presenting her closing arguments on February 19, Judge Sena Uzunović scheduled the verdict for today, February 26. In addition to Milorad Dodik, Miloš Lukić, the acting director of the Official Gazette, is also indicted.
The Prosecutor’s Office of BiH requested the maximum prison sentence, which is five years and even ten years of political participation, or a ban on performing official duties. The defense requested acquittal.
The Court of BiH announced today that due to technical reasons, there will be no live broadcast of the verdict. A large number of media teams will be present in courtroom 6, where the verdict against Dodik and Lukić will be pronounced, and the court announced ahead of the verdict that no one will be able to leave the courtroom until the verdict is announced.
HJPC President Sanin Bogunić said today from a two-day session that they have not made any statements so far because they did not want to influence the verdict. “What I can say now, because the verdict is in two hours, is that the HJPC fully supports the court, and I have a message directly for Milorad Dodik and all other politicians in this country: ‘Leave the BiH judiciary alone, leave the judges and prosecutors to work based on facts and evidence. The judiciary is not a show business and it is not a football match, refrain from commenting,'” he said.
Neither Dodik will attend the verdict, nor will his lawyers, who confirmed it this morning.
Milorad Dodik’s supporters are not expected in front of the BiH Court building. They are gathering in Banja Luka today, in front of the RS National Assembly, where they are expressing their support for Dodik, while the RS National Assembly is in session.
Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Minister of Defense Zukan Helez, together with Deputy Minister of Defense of BiH for Policy and Plans Slaven Galić, today in Sarajevo requested from the delegation of the European Parliament’s Committee on Defense and Security (SEDE) to reinforce EUFOR forces in BiH.
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