The President of the Republika Srpska entity, Milorad Dodik, and the acting director of the official newspaper of Republika Srpska, Milo\u0161 Luki\u0107, have declined to appear before the court in Bosnia and Herzegovina in connection with the indictment that charges them with a criminal offense for failing to comply with decisions made by the High Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Christian Schmidt.<\/p>\n
During a session held on Monday, October 16, Dodik expressed his confusion regarding the indictment, stating, \u201cI don\u2019t know why they have filed an indictment against me, and I don\u2019t comprehend the charges\u201d.<\/p>\n
Furthermore, Dodik refused to rise from his seat when the judge requested that he provide personal information and respond to the allegations, citing \u201cback pain\u201d as the reason.<\/p>\n
In adherence to her official duty, Judge Jasmine Dedovi\u0107 Cosi\u0107 declared Dodik and Luki\u0107 not guilty of the charges.<\/p>\n
Following the session, Dodik voiced his concerns to the media, characterizing the Court and the Prosecutor\u2019s Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina as \u201cillegitimate, illegal, and imposed\u201d. He deemed the legal proceedings against him to be politically motivated.<\/p>\n
Dodik argued that the laws he had signed, which led to the indictment against him and Luki\u0107, had passed through all constitutional procedures in the National Assembly of Republika Srpska.<\/p>\n
He emphasized his intention to defend himself as the \u201cPresident of Republika Srpska\u201d and suggested that \u201cthis stance would ultimately lead to the dissolution of Bosnia and Herzegovina\u201d.<\/p>\n
Dodik also raised objections regarding the language of the indictment, pointing out that it had not been delivered to him in Cyrillic, which he is proficient in.<\/p>\n
In August, the Prosecutor\u2019s Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina filed charges against Dodik and Luki\u0107 for their failure to adhere to decisions made by the High Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Christian Schmidt. These charges were subsequently amended and confirmed on September 11.<\/p>\n
In June, the National Assembly of Republika Srpska enacted laws related to the non-publication of decisions by the High Representative and non-compliance with decisions issued by the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina.<\/p>\n
High Representative Schmidt subsequently invalidated these laws.<\/p>\n
Dodik signed the decree to enforce these laws, and Luki\u0107 published them in the Official Gazette of Republika Srpska.<\/p>\n
Schmidt, when revoking the Republika Srpska law, introduced changes to the Criminal Code of Bosnia and Herzegovina, making non-compliance with decisions made by the High Representative a criminal offense.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The President of the Republika Srpska entity, Milorad Dodik, and the acting director of the official newspaper of Republika Srpska, Milo\u0161 Luki\u0107, have declined to appear before the court in Bosnia and Herzegovina in connection with the indictment that charges them with a criminal offense for failing to comply with decisions made by the High […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":61564,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[250],"tags":[2250,2251,308,243,151,1224,1225],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n