diff --git a/lib/bitbucket_server/connection.rb b/lib/bitbucket_server/connection.rb
index 0e7817fc82e..853d09b776a 100644
--- a/lib/bitbucket_server/connection.rb
+++ b/lib/bitbucket_server/connection.rb
@@ -33,22 +33,22 @@ module BitbucketServer
 
       check_errors!(response)
 
-      response
+      response.parsed_response
     end
 
     private
 
     def check_errors!(response)
-      if response.code != 200
-        error =
-          if response.parsed_response && response.parsed_response.is_a?(Hash)
-            sanitize(response.parsed_response.dig('errors', 0, 'message'))
-          end
+      return if response.code == 200
 
-        message = "Error #{response.code}"
-        message += ": #{error}" if error
-        raise ConnectionError, message
-      end
+      details =
+        if response.parsed_response && response.parsed_response.is_a?(Hash)
+          sanitize(response.parsed_response.dig('errors', 0, 'message'))
+        end
+
+      message = "Error #{response.code}"
+      message += ": #{details}" if details
+      raise ConnectionError, message
     end
 
     def auth
diff --git a/lib/gitlab/bitbucket_server_import/importer.rb b/lib/gitlab/bitbucket_server_import/importer.rb
index e948a038e8e..580dc0bb852 100644
--- a/lib/gitlab/bitbucket_server_import/importer.rb
+++ b/lib/gitlab/bitbucket_server_import/importer.rb
@@ -90,12 +90,11 @@ module Gitlab
           shas.each do |branch_name, sha|
             next if sha_exists?(sha)
 
-            response = client.create_branch(project_key, repository_slug, branch_name, sha)
-
-            if response.success?
+            begin
+              client.create_branch(project_key, repository_slug, branch_name, sha)
               branches_created << branch_name
-            else
-              Rails.logger.warn("BitbucketServerImporter: Unable to recreate branch for SHA #{sha}: #{response.code}")
+            rescue BitbucketServer::Connection::ConnectionError => e
+              Rails.logger.warn("BitbucketServerImporter: Unable to recreate branch for SHA #{sha}: #{e}")
             end
           end
         end
diff --git a/spec/lib/bitbucket_server/connection_spec.rb b/spec/lib/bitbucket_server/connection_spec.rb
index 911f6eea8bf..45affbcf4e4 100644
--- a/spec/lib/bitbucket_server/connection_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/lib/bitbucket_server/connection_spec.rb
@@ -4,12 +4,11 @@ describe BitbucketServer::Connection do
   let(:options) { { base_uri: 'https://test:7990', user: 'bitbucket', password: 'mypassword' } }
   let(:payload) { { 'test' => 1 } }
   let(:headers) { { "Content-Type" => "application/json" } }
+  let(:url) { 'https://test:7990/rest/api/1.0/test?something=1' }
 
   subject { described_class.new(options) }
 
   describe '#get' do
-    let(:url) { 'https://test:7990/rest/api/1.0/test?something=1' }
-
     it 'returns JSON body' do
       WebMock.stub_request(:get, url).to_return(body: payload.to_json, status: 200, headers: headers)
 
@@ -24,5 +23,16 @@ describe BitbucketServer::Connection do
   end
 
   describe '#post' do
+    it 'returns JSON body' do
+      WebMock.stub_request(:post, url).to_return(body: payload.to_json, status: 200, headers: headers)
+
+      expect(subject.post(url, payload)).to eq(payload)
+    end
+
+    it 'throws an exception if the response is not 200' do
+      WebMock.stub_request(:post, url).to_return(body: payload.to_json, status: 500, headers: headers)
+
+      expect { subject.post(url, payload) }.to raise_error(described_class::ConnectionError)
+    end
   end
 end