There Is No Place for a Witch Hunt in a Democracy!

This is a political decision, and the court of Bosnia and Herzegovina is a political court, declared the president of the Republika Srpska after the court of appeals upheld the first-instance verdict against him in its second-instance ruling. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban voiced his support for Milorad Dodik.

Viktor Orban and Milorad Dodik (Photo: MTI/Vivien Cher Benko)

"It’s time for everyone to respect the decision of the people of Republika Srpska, who elected Milorad Dodik as their president," Viktor Orban wrote on social media platform X. Hungary's prime minister emphasized:

There is no place for legal witch hunts in a democracy.

It’s time for everyone to respect the decision of the PEOPLE of Republika Srpska, who elected @MiloradDodik as their President.

There is no place for legal witch-hunts in a democracy.

— Orbán Viktor (@PM_ViktorOrban) August 1, 2025

On Friday, the court of appeals in Bosnia upheld the first-instance ruling against President Milorad Dodik, sentencing the Bosnian Serb leader to one year in prison and banning him from holding public office for six years, Hungarian state news agency MTI reported.

The federal prosecutor’s office of Bosnia filed charges against Dodik in August 2023, based on a provision in the criminal code stating that an official who fails to comply with, enforce, or obstructs the decisions of the High Representative of the international community may face six months to five years in prison and up to ten years’ disqualification from public office. Dodik was accused of refusing to comply with the decisions of High Representative Christian Schmidt by signing a law that rejected the authority and powers of the international High Representative. Notably, this very provision in the criminal code was modified by Schmidt himself, with the changes triggered by statements and actions made by Bosnian Serb politicians.

"The court ruling in Bosnia and Herzegovina is a blow to Republika Srpska. I do not recognize the so-called crime defined by Christian Schmidt, which says that anyone who does not respect him should go to prison. And that’s the essence of the matter. If we accept that a man with no legitimacy can do this, then we’re in serious trouble," Milorad Dodik wrote in response to the ruling on social media. He emphasized:

As long as I am president, there will be no early elections. I call on the police to help prevent this.

He added:

This is a political decision, and the court in Bosnia and Herzegovina is a political court.

A bejegyzés megtekintése az Instagramon

Милорад Додик (@mdodik.official) által megosztott bejegyzés

Cover photo: Viktor Orban and Milorad Dodik (Photo: MTI)