Republika Srpska (RS) President Milorad Dodik has said that he will ignore the final verdict sentencing him to a year in prison and a six-year ban on political activity, and announced that he will seek help from Russia and Donald Trump.
The Appellate Chamber of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) has upheld the first-instance verdict handed down to Dodik in February for failing to implement decisions of the High Representative in BiH. There is no possibility of appeal against this verdict.
"Nothing unexpected, it is a pure political decision and will. It is an attack on Republika Srpska, personalized through Milorad Dodik," Dodik said at a press conference in Banja Luka.
The goal of the verdict, he stated, is his "political elimination".
He stressed that he does not accept the verdict of the Court of BiH, which, as he said, was created by the European Union (EU), with the head of the EU Delegation to BiH, Luigi Sorrec.
He added that Marta Cos, the EU Enlargement Commissioner, is also "guilty" and that he will ask his associates to "ignore foreign and EU ambassadors."
He stated that the RS National Assembly would decide on the verdict and that he would respect the decision of the entity parliament. The parliament had earlier, the day after the first-instance verdict against Dodik, adopted laws banning the operation of the Court of BiH and the Prosecutor's Office of BiH in RS.
Dodik reiterated that, according to the "Constitution of BiH, there is neither a prosecutor's office, nor a court, nor a high representative, who can make decisions with the force of law," accusing High Representative Christian Schmidt of "creating chaos in BiH on orders from outside."
"We have the tools to respond. We have an open debate on the new Constitution, we have passed laws, which we will reaffirm. We will not hesitate to protect the interests of RS and to protect peace," Dodik said.
He called on the citizens of RS to remain calm, adding that early elections in RS will not be held as long as he holds the office of entity president. He also called on the people of RS and the police not to allow early elections for the president of RS to be held.
"I think RS should fight back. I risk this being one of my last political speeches... I expect full support from Serbia, I will turn to Russia for support, we will write to the new American administration. This is shameful, this has nothing to do with democracy, rightly so, this has only to do with Muslim efforts to dominate BiH," he said.
Dodik called on the citizens and police of RS not to allow early elections for the president of that entity.
He told Serbs in the RS that "if they don't wake up now, in five years they will experience an exodus and become a dramatic minority and will not be able to express their political views."
"The people should not be afraid. No gun will fire here. Our greatest strength is unity. As far as we could read, I am not forbidden from remaining the president of the party (SNSD). We will stay together. After six years, when I return to the elections, we will have a different platform, if we decide to do something like that, but I hope that by then there will be no BiH, at least not the Court and Prosecutor's Office of BiH," Dodik concluded.
The Associated Press reports that Dodik is unlikely to end up in prison anytime soon because he enjoys the full support of Serbia, which can provide him with sanctuary in Belgrade, as well as Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has hosted him at least three times since the initial verdict on February 26.
The EU announced yesterday that the final verdict against Dodik must be respected and called on all parties to recognize the independence and impartiality of the Court of BiH that issued it.
British Ambassador to BiH Julian Riley stated that the final verdict of the Appellate Chamber of the Court of BiH should be fully respected and that all competent institutions and actors must support the rule of law.
High Representative in BiH Christian Schmidt told the Detektor portal yesterday that court rulings must be respected.
The Russian Embassy in BiH stated that any judgments based on claims of alleged violations of decisions by the High Representative, whom RS does not recognize, are not legal, but are purely politicized.
Regarding the verdict of the Appellate Division of the Court of BiH, the Russian Embassy told the Srna agency "that they assume that in the legal sense there is no High Representative in BiH and that Christian Schmidt is essentially a usurper."
"All responsibility for the possible destabilization of the internal political situation in the country lies with the promoters of this political action," they said in a statement.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić stated that the EU's reaction to the Dodik verdict is shameful and that Serbia has not been in such a difficult situation since 2008 as it is today, after the decision of the Court of BiH.
Dodik's lawyer, Goran Bubić, announced that an appeal will be filed with the Constitutional Court of BiH in an attempt to challenge the verdict.
"We will also request a temporary measure to freeze the execution of the verdict until the decision of the Constitutional Court of BiH," Bubić said at a press conference yesterday in Banja Luka, stating that these are steps necessary for a further appeal to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.
He stated that yesterday at around 11.00:XNUMX am he was informed by the Court of BiH that the first-instance verdict against Dodik had been confirmed and that the appeals of the parties in the proceedings had been rejected.
"We expected justice. Unfortunately, we were wrong. The president's legal team will continue with the available legal means," Bubić said at a press conference in Banja Luka.
Dodik can "buy out" his one-year prison sentence with 36.000 convertible marks (about 18,5 thousand euros)
After the final verdict, Dodik should step down from the presidency.
The Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina (CEC) should revoke his mandate within 15 days, and then call early elections for the president of the RS within three months.
Dodik can "buy out" his one-year prison sentence with 36.000 convertible marks (about 18,5 thousand euros).
The president of the opposition party For Justice and Order, Nebojša Vukanović, stated that the question now is who will implement the final verdict handed down to Dodik and how.
"Will the institutions behave as they did a few months ago when a warrant was issued for him, will the CEC revoke his mandate, call new elections, how will they be conducted?" said Vukanović.
He assessed that the Collegium of the RS National Assembly will certainly be held on Monday, followed by a special session of the entity parliament and, as he stated, a set of new radical measures and decisions.
Vukanović emphasized that Dodik was recognized by the Court of BiH, when he recently went for questioning on suspicions that he had attacked the constitutional order of BiH.
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