Indictment against Milorad Dodik read, he claims the process is not led by the BiH Court but by 'someone else'

(Patria) - The indictment in the Milorad Dodik case was read today at the Court of BiH, and as of today, the process is led by judge Sena Uzunović. Former judge Mirsad Strika will soon retire and requested the reassignment of the case. This case has been separated from Dodik, and those parts of the indictment have been read. Dodik is accused of failing to implement the decisions of the High Representative. The case against Miloš Lukić, acting director of the Official Gazette of Republika Srpska, will be conducted separately.

Dodik's supporters who were in the audience had previously left the Court of BiH, while Dodik addressed the media after the hearing concluded. Due to unrest in the audience, a screen was lowered over the courtroom windows, and Uzunović ordered court police to remove anyone not respecting order, at which point most of the audience left.

"This is a purely political process. This process is not led by the Court of BiH but by someone else. If the process has been separated, a new indictment should have been filed. They read only parts of the previous indictment that relate to me. The same judge has been appointed for both me and Lukić. Politics plays the main role here. I said in court that the flag of Republika Srpska should be added or one flag removed, because behind the judge is the flag of BiH and the flag of FBiH," said Dodik.

Dodik stated that an atmosphere of lynching had been created.

"We will continue to fight and prove how absurd this is. The problem is not the reading of the indictment, but the procedure. The judge says it has to be this way. The connection between the Prosecution and the Court is obvious. The judge had political involvement and held very important positions. How can I believe in the integrity of judges who are politically involved? This is an abuse and instrumentalization of the court and prosecution. This has nothing to do with law or common sense," said Dodik.

Dodik claimed that judge Strika was under pressure.

"It is obvious that he had the dignity to say that he could not do it and that he was withdrawing from the judiciary and retiring. Why did they assign it to him if they knew he was retiring?" he added.

Lawyer Goran Bubić stated that the indictment was also read against Miloš Lukić, who was not in the courtroom. He said that they had filed a request for the recusal of the judge, but the trial was not postponed.

As Patria announced, no more hearings will be held in February, so the next hearing is scheduled for March 6. Dodik will have a series of visits before the new trial, announcing a meeting with the Russian president, as well as with Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, while Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán will visit Banja Luka on March 7.