Court of BiH on Dodik's claims: Direct attack on the reputation, honor and professional career of Judge Uzunović

(Patria) - The Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina today issued a statement denying the allegations made by RS President Milorad Dodik last week at a press conference regarding Judge Sena Uzunović, who is presiding over the proceedings against him.

"Given the recent media reports that conveyed the statement of RS President Milorad Dodik, made at a press conference on October 9, following a hearing held at the Court of BiH, in which false claims attempt to directly incriminate Judge Sena Uzunović of this Court, the Court finds it justified to publish a denial of the statements from the said press conference.

Namely, addressing the press conference, the RS President, among other things, stated the following: 'In Konjic, a family Golubović was killed, sons Petar and Pavle, aged eight and nine. Then Sena's comrades appeared, who brought out that family, killed the father, mother, and older brother. The younger brother, wounded, went to the police to report it. Those Muslims, police officers, took that child back to the executioners. Sena Uzunović did nothing in that case.'

First of all, the Court considers that the aforementioned statement constitutes a direct attack on the reputation, honor and professional career of Judge Sena Uzunović, as it is false, unfounded, based on the personal opinion of an individual, and disregards previously established facts.

Namely, during the war events in BiH, jurisdiction over war crimes against civilians was vested in the basic prosecutor's offices and courts. At the time of the commission of the mentioned crime, Judge Sena Uzunović was serving as a judge of the District Military Court in Mostar - Department in Konjic, which did not have jurisdiction to try these cases.

The aforementioned monstrous crime mentioned by the RS President in his statement was committed by members of the police, Konjic Police Station, for which the surviving perpetrators have been finally convicted.

Following the above, at the same press conference, the RS President also stated: '... that it is clear what Sena Uzunović, after this act, thinks about crimes against Serbs and the Republic of Srpska.'

As a reminder, in the case 'Hazim Delić and others', during 1994, Judge Sena Uzunović conducted an investigation into murders at the proposal of the District Military Prosecutor's Office, which resulted in the collection of evidence for crimes committed in the Čelebići camp against members of the Serbian people.

Upon completion of the investigation, the case was submitted to the Hague Tribunal, which ultimately rendered a conviction for the perpetrators, and the said verdict represents the first verdict for crimes committed against members of the Serbian people," they stated in the announcement from the Court of BiH.