Bosnian Serb leader sentenced to prison for defying peace envoy's rulings

A Bosnian court has sentenced Milorad Dodik, the leader of the Serb Republic within Bosnia and Herzegovina, to one year in prison for defying the rulings of the international peace envoy overseeing Bosnia's peace process. The 65-year-old Dodik was also handed a six-year ban from holding office.

The ruling, delivered by the Sarajevo court, follows an indictment in 2023 that accused Dodik of signing laws that effectively suspended decisions made by Bosnia’s Constitutional Court and Christian Schmidt, the international peace envoy appointed to monitor Bosnia’s post-war stability. Dodik has consistently rejected the indictment, calling it politically motivated, Caliber.Az reports citing foreign media.

“There is no reason to worry. I learned to put up with more difficult things,” Dodik told his supporters in Banja Luka after the ruling. “We must be cheerful, I am sentenced to one year for their crap and their jail,” he added, defiant in the face of the verdict.

Under Bosnian criminal law, a fine can be paid instead of jail time if the sentence does not exceed one year, making it unclear whether Dodik would serve time in prison or opt for financial compensation. He has two weeks to appeal the decision, which also prohibits him from holding office for six years. However, it remains uncertain whether he will pursue an appeal.

Neither Dodik nor his legal representatives were present in the courtroom during the sentencing. Prior to the verdict, Dodik had stated that he would disobey any conviction, even threatening to take “radical measures,” including the potential secession of Serb Republic from Bosnia and Herzegovina. He had also claimed that a ruling against him could “strike a death blow to Bosnia and Herzegovina.”

In the same case, Milos Lucic, the former acting director of the Serb entity’s Official Gazette, was acquitted. Lucic had been accused of obstructing the enforcement of Schmidt's decisions, but the court found no grounds for his conviction.