Dodik: The process was political, and the BiH Court does not exist in the Constitution

Dodik, who voluntarily appeared at the BiH Prosecutor’s Office yesterday accompanied by his lawyer to be questioned as a suspect for the criminal offense of attacking the constitutional order, told reporters today that the entire process was politically motivated.

“You all know that this process was politically motivated, and we know that this Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina and its Prosecutor’s Office are not foreseen in the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina, so my appearance there was purely politically motivated,” Dodik said.

Republika Srpska Prime Minister Radovan Viskovic argued that what is happening now is exactly what the RS government has been warning about for two years — a political process based on the imposition of decisions by foreign officials.

“You cannot prosecute any official based on the imposed decisions of an unelected foreigner. We have legislative institutions — the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH and the National Assembly of RS. They enact laws, and courts can act only according to those laws,” he said.

He added that the judiciary has finally acknowledged the limits of imposed decisions:

“I thank the people in the BiH Court and Prosecutor’s Office who found the courage to say that they cannot prosecute based on (High Representative) Christian Schmidt’s decisions. That was logical, and we’ve been saying it for two years. Justice sometimes comes late, but it does come.”

Dodik is under investigation on suspicion of committing the criminal offense of attacking the constitutional order. The case concerns his disregard for the decisions of the High Representative and the passing of laws in RS that deny the jurisdiction of the state judiciary. Although his detention has been lifted, the legal process is not over.