Judge changed in Dodik case: Instead of Strika, Sena Uzunović will preside

(Patria) - The President of Republika Srpska, Milorad Dodik, will no longer be tried by judge Mirsad Strika as of today, Istraga.ba learns. As we have learned, this case has been assigned to BiH Court judge Sena Uzunović.

Judge Mirsad Strika requested the reassignment of the case at the beginning of this year because he had already met the conditions for retirement earlier. Therefore, at the end of last week, the CMS system determined that the presiding judge would be Sena Uzunović, who should already be in the courtroom of the BiH Court today, Monday.

The trial of Milorad Dodik, in fact, has not even started yet, as the main hearing has been postponed three times so far.

Milorad Dodik, President of Republika Srpska (RS), and Miloš Lukić, acting director of the Official Gazette of that entity, refused to enter a plea on the indictment charging them with the criminal offense of “Failure to enforce decisions of the High Representative in BiH.”

“I don’t know why the indictment was raised against me. I don’t understand the indictment,” Dodik said at the hearing held on October 16 last year.

Pre-trial judge Jasmina Dedović Ćosić then noted that this constituted “disrespect for the court” and, ex officio, made a decision according to which Dodik and Lukić pleaded not guilty.

After that, the case was assigned to judge Mirsad Strika, who was to preside over this case. The first main hearing was scheduled for November 22 but was postponed due to “Dodik’s official obligations,” specifically a meeting with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. The next hearing was to be held on December 6, but it was not held because Dodik’s defense requested a postponement due to an appeal they intended to file against the previous Court rejection to move the trial to Banja Luka. Then, the main hearing was scheduled for December 20 last year, but it was postponed because the prosecutors from the BiH Prosecutor’s Office were not ready for opening statements, while Dodik’s defense sought the recusal of all prosecutors. After that, Dodik was to appear before the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina on January 17, but the main hearing was postponed for the third time. The hearing was postponed because Dodik’s defense requested the recusal of judge Mirsad Strika and seven other judges of the BiH Court. A few days later, the BiH Court announced that they had rejected the request for the recusal of judges Zoran Božić, Vesna Jesenković, Šaban Maksumić, Darko Samardžić, Hilma Vučinić, Redžib Begić, and Minka Kreho.

“Regarding these seven judges, the Court made a decision rejecting the defense’s request as inadmissible. The trial that judge Mirsad Strika announced for January 30 has been postponed, and a new date has been set for February 5,” the BiH Court stated.

The hearing scheduled for January 30 was moved to February 5. In the meantime, judge Mirsad Strika requested recusal, and the case was assigned to judge Sena Uzunović.

The BiH Court confirmed the indictment against Dodik and Lukić at the beginning of September. They are charged with disregarding the decisions of the High Representative in BiH, Christian Schmidt.

Milorad Dodik and Miloš Lukić are charged with the criminal offense of failing to implement the decisions of the High Representative of the international community, for which, in the event of a conviction, they face a sentence ranging from six months to five years in prison. A conviction also means an automatic ban from holding the positions they currently occupy.

The amendments to the Criminal Code of Bosnia and Herzegovina under which Dodik and Lukić will be tried were imposed by the current High Representative, Christian Schmidt, on July 1 last year, at the same time when he annulled the laws by which the entity parliament, the National Assembly of Republika Srpska, attempted to block the implementation of his decisions, as well as the rulings of the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Although Schmidt annulled the disputed laws based on his powers, Dodik nevertheless signed a decree on their entry into force, and Lukić published them in the entity’s Official Gazette, thus both violated the law.