The President of the Republic of Srpska, Dodik, has been sentenced in absentia to one year in prison.

2025-02-27 07:07:02https://svoboda.org/a/prezident-respubliki-serbskoy-dodik-zaochno-prigovoryon-k-godu-tyurjmy/33329035.html

The court found Dodik guilty of ignoring the decisions of the Constitutional Court and the High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina, international official Christian Schmidt, reports the Balkan Service of Radio Free Europe. Specifically, he signed presidential decrees affirming the continued validity of two laws of the Republic of Srpska, which had previously been declared unconstitutional and annulled by Schmidt. These laws pertain to the non-implementation of the decisions of the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the non-implementation of the decisions of the High Representative within the territory of the Republic of Srpska.

Dodik did not admit guilt. Speaking at a rally in his support in Banja Luka, he stated that "there is no reason for concern." The verdict has not yet taken effect, and the politician's defense will appeal the decision.

Alongside Dodik, the acting director of the Official Gazette of the Republic of Srpska, Miloš Lukić, was also accused in the case - the publication that issued Dodik's decrees. The court acquitted him.

The day before, the leadership of the Republic of Srpska declared that it has no intention of recognizing the jurisdiction of the Prosecutor's Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina and, should pressure from Sarajevo continue, will take stringent measures, including banning the operations of the Bosnian security service on its territory and withdrawing from the army agreement, warning that this could lead to a division of the country.

Milorad Dodik is known for his pro-Russian stance. He is under sanctions from the USA and the UK due to separatist and anti-European rhetoric, suspicions of corruption and abuse of power, as well as for opposing international peacekeeping efforts. In 2024, he refused to recognize the UN resolution that declared the 1995 Srebrenica massacre a genocide, in which around eight thousand Muslims, including children, were killed by Serbian armed forces.