Today in Žitorađa, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić criticized the European Union’s response to the final verdict convicting Republika Srpska President Milorad Dodik, describing it as disgraceful. He emphasized that Serbia has not faced such a challenging situation since 2008, following the verdict from the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH).

After the Appellate Chamber of the Court of BiH upheld the initial verdict against Dodik—resulting in a one-year prison sentence and a six-year ban on holding the presidency of Republika Srpska—Vučić told reporters that he would not commend this court decision and reiterated his stance that Dodik was convicted for a “verbal offense.”

During his visit to the recently fire-affected areas of Novo Momčilovo and Konjarnik, Vučić remarked that Serbia is currently facing immense pressure from foreign entities attempting to dictate its reactions.

“While I am alive and blood still runs through my veins, I will not utter a single word of praise for a verdict stemming from a verbal offense. If you are expecting commendation from me, you are at the wrong door. You can apply all the pressure imaginable; it would be better for me to die than to betray everything I have fought for my entire life,” Vučić asserted.

Furthermore, he expressed discomfort listening to those advising Serbia on human rights and questioned what the EU’s response would have been if Serbia had convicted a politician for a verbal offense.

“Just imagine if Serbia convicted a political leader for a verbal offense—not for a crime, but for a verbal offense. What would the European Union’s reaction be? All I can say about their response is that it’s shameful, and that’s all I’ll say,” Vučić stated.

The European Union has stated that the final verdict against Dodik is binding and must be adhered to, urging all parties to acknowledge the independence and impartiality of the Court of BiH and to respect its judgment.

Vučić mentioned that the Serbian National Security Council would formally address the Dodik verdict tomorrow, proposing solutions that will be undoubtedly difficult, and will engage in a thorough discussion following the session.

The Appellate Chamber of the Court of BiH affirmed the initial ruling against Dodik, which included a one-year prison sentence and a six-year ban from office for not executing the decisions of the High Representative in BiH.

The Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina is expected to revoke Dodik’s mandate within 15 days and call for early elections for the president of RS within three months.

Dodik, on his part, rejected the verdict, stating it was “engineered by the European Union,” and asserted that the RS Parliament will determine the next steps. Previously, the parliament had enacted laws to ban the activities of the Court of BiH and the Prosecutor’s Office of BiH in RS soon after the initial verdict was announced in late February.

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