Prison sentence for Bosnian Serb leader
A Bosnian court has imposed a one-year prison sentence on Milorad Dodik for obstructing the authority of an international peace envoy. Read Full Article at RT.com
TroibNews 
Milorad Dodik, the leader of the Bosnian Serbs, has been sentenced to one year in prison due to his defiance of an international official's authority overseeing peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Alongside this prison term, the court also imposed a six-year ban on Dodik from holding any political office.
At 65 years old, Dodik serves as the president of the Serb-dominated Republika Srpska. He was found guilty of obstructing the enforcement of decisions made by Bosnia’s constitutional court and Christian Schmidt, the High Representative appointed to oversee the 1995 Dayton Peace Agreement, which concluded the civil war in the former Yugoslavia. This agreement established Bosnia and Herzegovina as a federation consisting of the Bosniak-Croat Federation and Republika Srpska, with a presidency representing the three major ethnic groups: Bosniaks, Serbs, and Croats.
The Dayton accord also established the Office of the High Representative to ensure compliance with the agreement and to prevent renewed conflict. However, Dodik has consistently challenged Schmidt's authority, arguing that he is not legitimate and accusing Western powers of using the Office to undermine the autonomy of Republika Srpska.
The court in Sarajevo ruled that Dodik acted unlawfully by signing two laws that invalidated the decrees of the peace envoy and halted the enforcement of Bosnia’s highest court rulings within Republika Srpska.
Although Dodik did not attend the court hearing, he previously warned that a guilty verdict could severely threaten the existence of Bosnia and Herzegovina and suggested he might pursue a path towards the secession of Republika Srpska.
After the court's ruling, Dodik spoke at a rally in Banja Luka, where he labeled the verdict as politically motivated and promised to take “radical measures.” He stated, “I have been sentenced to a year in their shi**y prison. They say I am guilty, but now I will say I am not guilty,” as he addressed what reports estimate to be around 25,000 supporters.
In a message posted on his official X account, Dodik declared that the National Assembly of Republika Srpska would formally reject the court’s decision and prohibit the execution of any rulings from Bosnia's state judiciary within its territory. He also announced that Republika Srpska would prevent the central government and police of Bosnia from operating in its jurisdiction.
Dodik has a two-week window to appeal the ruling, although he has not confirmed whether he will do so. Legal experts have indicated that the sentence will become final after the appeals process is completed, as reported by local media.
He has already spoken to Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban regarding the verdict, thanking them for their support in his post on X. Vucic is said to have convened an emergency session of the National Security Council in Belgrade to address Dodik’s sentence and is expected to visit Republika Srpska shortly.
Dodik has a track record of criticizing NATO and opposing Bosnia’s potential membership in the military alliance, which he has previously associated with significant civilian suffering. He has expressed a preference for Bosnia's inclusion in BRICS over NATO and has been public about his ties with Russia, denouncing Western sanctions on Moscow in connection with the Ukraine crisis. He has reaffirmed his commitment to strengthening relations with Russia, despite ongoing pressure from the United States to refrain from doing so.
Lucas Dupont contributed to this report for TROIB News
At 65 years old, Dodik serves as the president of the Serb-dominated Republika Srpska. He was found guilty of obstructing the enforcement of decisions made by Bosnia’s constitutional court and Christian Schmidt, the High Representative appointed to oversee the 1995 Dayton Peace Agreement, which concluded the civil war in the former Yugoslavia. This agreement established Bosnia and Herzegovina as a federation consisting of the Bosniak-Croat Federation and Republika Srpska, with a presidency representing the three major ethnic groups: Bosniaks, Serbs, and Croats.
The Dayton accord also established the Office of the High Representative to ensure compliance with the agreement and to prevent renewed conflict. However, Dodik has consistently challenged Schmidt's authority, arguing that he is not legitimate and accusing Western powers of using the Office to undermine the autonomy of Republika Srpska.
The court in Sarajevo ruled that Dodik acted unlawfully by signing two laws that invalidated the decrees of the peace envoy and halted the enforcement of Bosnia’s highest court rulings within Republika Srpska.
Although Dodik did not attend the court hearing, he previously warned that a guilty verdict could severely threaten the existence of Bosnia and Herzegovina and suggested he might pursue a path towards the secession of Republika Srpska.
After the court's ruling, Dodik spoke at a rally in Banja Luka, where he labeled the verdict as politically motivated and promised to take “radical measures.” He stated, “I have been sentenced to a year in their shi**y prison. They say I am guilty, but now I will say I am not guilty,” as he addressed what reports estimate to be around 25,000 supporters.
In a message posted on his official X account, Dodik declared that the National Assembly of Republika Srpska would formally reject the court’s decision and prohibit the execution of any rulings from Bosnia's state judiciary within its territory. He also announced that Republika Srpska would prevent the central government and police of Bosnia from operating in its jurisdiction.
Dodik has a two-week window to appeal the ruling, although he has not confirmed whether he will do so. Legal experts have indicated that the sentence will become final after the appeals process is completed, as reported by local media.
He has already spoken to Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban regarding the verdict, thanking them for their support in his post on X. Vucic is said to have convened an emergency session of the National Security Council in Belgrade to address Dodik’s sentence and is expected to visit Republika Srpska shortly.
Dodik has a track record of criticizing NATO and opposing Bosnia’s potential membership in the military alliance, which he has previously associated with significant civilian suffering. He has expressed a preference for Bosnia's inclusion in BRICS over NATO and has been public about his ties with Russia, denouncing Western sanctions on Moscow in connection with the Ukraine crisis. He has reaffirmed his commitment to strengthening relations with Russia, despite ongoing pressure from the United States to refrain from doing so.
Lucas Dupont contributed to this report for TROIB News
