SELAK: WE WILL NOT ACCEPT THE JUDICIARY BEING USED AS AN INSTRUMENT FOR POLITICAL DISCIPLINING OF SERBS

BANJA LUKA, January 30 /SRNA/ - Republika Srpska Minister of Justice Goran Selak stated that the law must not be used as a tool for political or ideological confrontations, but rather as a guarantee of legal certainty and equality for all citizens.

Commenting on the first-instance verdict issued by the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the case of Miodrag Malić, Selak told SRNA that it is the duty of all institutions to apply the law equally, consistently and without a selective approach.

"The law must not be a means for political or ideological confrontations, but a guarantee of legal certainty and equality of all citizens. I raise a legitimate and legally important question - does such judicial practice open the door to treating any public reminder of war crimes committed against the Serbian people, or pointing to crimes committed by members of certain units of the so-called Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, as a criminal offence?" Selak asked.

If that is the case, he added, then it is not about protecting peace and tolerance, but about imposing a single truth and silencing other voices.

Selak emphasized that it is particularly concerning that, at the same time, certain units whose members are responsible for serious war crimes against Serbian civilians, including children-especially in the area of Konjic and other sites of suffering-are glorified in the public space without consequences.

"Such events, apparently, do not provoke the same reaction from judicial institutions. I warn that the authority of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina has been seriously undermined over the past year, and this verdict further deepens the lack of trust among a large segment of the public in its impartiality and legality. Justice that is selective ceases to be justice and becomes a source of new divisions," the Minister of Justice said.

Selak stressed that the Republika Srpska remains committed to the rule of law, respect for legislation, and the fight against all forms of hate speech.

"However, we will not accept the judiciary being used as an instrument for the political disciplining of an entire people or for suppressing the right to truth and remembrance. I call on all judicial institutions to return to the fundamental principles of law: legality, equality, and impartiality. Only in this way can we build a society in which peace and coexistence are based on justice, not on fear and selective verdicts," Selak concluded.

In the mentioned case, the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina found the defendant, Miodrag Malić, guilty of the criminal offence of inciting national, racial, and religious hatred, discord, and intolerance under Article 145a, paragraph 6 of the Criminal Code of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and sentenced him to three years in prison.