Dodik and his lawyers weren't in court during the sentencing. He has said he would disobey any conviction and threatened “radical measures” in response, including eventual secession of the Serb-run entity in Bosnia called Republika Srpska from the rest of the country.
Dodik has repeatedly called for the separation of the Serb-run half of Bosnia to join with neighboring Serbia, which prompted the former U.S. administration to impose sanctions against him and his close allies. Dodik was also accused of corruption and pro-Russia policies.
Dodik's separatist threats stoked fears in Bosnia, where a 1992-95 war left 100,000 people killed and displaced millions. The U.S.-sponsored Dayton Accords ended the war nearly three decades ago and created two regions, Republika Srpska and the Bosniak-Croat Federation.
Dodik has repeatedly clashed with top international envoy Christian Schmidt and declared his decisions illegal in Republika Srpska. The Dayton peace agreement envisages that the high representative can impose decisions and change laws in the country.
The regions were given wide autonomy but kept some joint institutions, including the army, top judiciary and tax administration. Bosnia also has a rotating three-member presidency made up of Bosniak, Serb and Croat members.
Bosniak official Camil Durakovic said the verdict against Dodik showed that “no individual is above the state and that everyone will be held accountable for their actions.”
Dodik, a supporter of U.S. President Donald Trump, was in the Bosnian Serb administrative capital Banja Luka, where thousands gathered Wednesday in his support.
“They say I am guilty, but now people here will say why I am not guilty,” Dodik told the crowd after the verdict was announced. “There is no reason to worry. I have learned to deal with tougher situations.”
In Serbia, populist President Aleksandar Vucic called an urgent session of the national security council there.
Dodik is unlikely to be sent to prison any time soon because he enjoys the full support of Vucic, who can provide shelter to him in Belgrade.
Dodik told the crowd he spoke by phone with Vucic and with Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban, whom he called a friend. He invited Vucic to come to Banja Luka to discuss “what we are going to do next.”
“The political witch hunt against President @MiloradDodik is a sad example of the weaponization of the legal system aimed at a democratically elected leader," Orban said on X. “ If we want to safeguard stability in the Western Balkans, this is not the way forward!”
Dodik said the Bosnian Serb parliament will vote later Wednesday to reject the legal proceedings against him. Lawmakers will also approve several laws banning the work of central Bosnian legal institutions from the Serb-controlled half of Bosnia, he said.
The war in Bosnia erupted when the country’s Serbs rebelled against independence from the former Yugoslavia and moved to form a mini-state of their own with the aim of uniting it with Serbia.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Credit: AP