Prosecutors ask for harsher sentence for Dodik, defense calls for acquittal to "relax political tensions"

In the case of Milos Lukic, the Prosecutor’s Office claims that the first-instance court failed to properly establish that a decision had been made to appoint him as the head of the Republika Srpska Official Gazette, and has therefore requested that the acquittal be overturned.

Attorney Goran Bubic specifically warned that the proceedings had an impact on political processes in Bosnia and Herzegovina and that everything should be approached “sensitively.” He requested that Dodik’s conviction be overturned, arguing that this would help “relax” political tensions in the country. The defense also referred to a Europol statement claiming that the case against Milorad Dodik amounts to “political persecution.”. c

Attorney Goran Bubić specifically warned that the proceedings had an impact on political processes in Bosnia and Herzegovina and that everything should be approached “sensitively.” He requested that Dodik’s conviction be overturned, arguing that this would help “relax” political tensions in the country. The defense also referred to a Europol statement claiming that the case against Milorad Dodik amounts to “political persecution.”

Lukic’s defense rejected the prosecution’s claims, reiterating that he was not the director of the entity’s Official Gazette at the time in question.

The hearing was scheduled to begin today at 1 p.m., but Dodik’s defense requested the recusal of judges Vesna Jesenkovic and Hilmo Vucinic. The judicial panel of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina denied the request, and the trial resumed at 4 p.m.

The deadline for delivering a verdict is 30 days.