In a statement to the Russian media, state representative Sanja Vulic praised the volunteers who are fighting on the side of Russia in Ukraine, even though fighting on foreign battlefields is prohibited by domestic laws. With her statements, Vulic exposed herself to possible prosecution because inciting others is also punishable.
In an interview for Russian ”Gazeta”, a member of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina (PABiH), Sanja Vulic, said in mid-June that “the Serbian people are looking for hundreds of ways and opportunities to show their attachment to Russia.”
“I will remind you of those who are not talked about so loudly, but with pride – these are the volunteers in Donbas and those who do not miss the opportunity to march in T-shirts with the sign Z, chant in support of Vladimir Putin at football matches and organize concerts on Victory Day or Russia Day,” added Vulic.
This way of emphasizing the pride of the volunteers in Donbas, a Ukrainian region whose parts have been occupied by Russia since 2014, is in direct opposition to the articles of the Criminal Code which was adopted by the Parliament, of which Vulic is a member, a decade ago.
Because of such a statement, Vulic could be accused of inciting the commission of a criminal act, which is punishable under the Criminal Code of BiH, according to Senad Dupovac, a lawyer who represented a large number of defendants for participation in foreign battlefields, especially in Syria and Iraq. He believes that the relationship would have been different if someone had praised BiH volunteers in Syria.
“He would immediately be accused of inciting the commission of a criminal act,” he believes.
After the departure of tens of citizens of BiH to foreign battlefields in Syria and Iraq, the PABiH adopted in 2014 amendments to the Criminal Code that related to the punishment of terrorist activities. Any participation in foreign battlefields became punishable by a special article of the Law in which the formation and joining of foreign paramilitary and parapolice formations were marked as illegal.
It is also specifically stated that persons who publicly, through means of information, distribute or in any other way direct a message to the public – whose aim is to encourage another to commit this criminal offense – will be punished with a prison sentence of three months to three years, Detektor writes.
E.Dz.
