Muharem Stulanovic, a professor at the Islamic Pedagogical Faculty in Bihac, theologian and imam, was acquitted Thursday in the District Court of Banja Luka of the criminal offence of harming the reputation of the Republika Srpska (RS) entity and its peoples.

In January of last year, Stulanovic gave a speech during Juma prayer in which he called RS a genocidal creation. Because of those statements, the indictment was brought against him by the Prosecutor's Office of the RS, Special Department for Suppression of Organized Corruption and the most serious forms of economic crime, Faktor news portal reported.

Stulanovic was accused of harming the reputation of the RS and its peoples under Article 280a. of the RS Criminal Code.

However, on January 18 of this year, a plenary session of the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina was held, which determined that Article 280a. of the RS Criminal Code is not in accordance with the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina, nor with the European Convention, which is why this provision was abolished.

“After the confirmation of the indictment, the decision of the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina was made and this offence was decriminalized on February 7. Since the decisions of the Constitutional Court of BiH are binding and final, the Court concluded that this act is decriminalized,” said Banja Luka District Court judge Sinisa Markovic.

“In his speech, he exposed the Republika Srpska to scorn, contempt and gross disparagement, because he labelled it as a genocidal creation, thereby committing the criminal offence of harming the reputation of the RS and its peoples from Article 280, paragraph 2, in connection with paragraph 1 of the Criminal Code,” the indictment stated.

Stulanovic's defence warned from the beginning that the indictment should be dismissed in view of the decision of the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina.