The leader of the Serbs in Bosnia escapes prison. Milorad Dodik hopes to keep his mandate as president and
Milorad Dodik Photo: Pavicic / Ap / Profimedia radivoje
The justice of Bosnia and Herzegovina accepted the request of the leader of the Republic of Srpska, Milorad Dodik, to pay a fine to avoid executing a one year prison sentence for non-observance of the Bosnian Constitutional Court, the EFE agency, taken over by Agerpres, on Tuesday.
The one-year prison sentence can be switched on a fine of about 52 euros for each day of imprisonment, according to the Bosnian legislation.
Milorad Dodik is the President of the Republic of Srpska, the Serbian entity who, together with the common entity of Croatians and Muslims, forms Bosnia and Herzegovina since the Civil War was completed in 1995.
Dodik demands the separation from Bosnia and Herzegovina of the Republic of Srpska and its union with Serbia. He was sentenced to one year in prison and six years of prohibition to hold political functions, for non-observance of the Constitutional Court's decisions and Herzegovina and the High Representative Christian Schmidt.
Dodik's legal team appealed on Tuesday the decision of the central electoral commission (CIK) to cancel the mandate, arguing that it is unconstitutional and that it is used as a “political pressure tool”.
The decision of the Court of Appeal is expected next week. If all calls are rejected, Dodik's dismissal as president of the Republic of Srpska will be final, and the electoral commission will have to convene new elections within 90 days.
As Dodik and his party do not accept the court's decision or revocation, it is not clear how the situation could evolve. He has threatened for many years that he will separate the Republic of Srpska from Bosnia and Herzegovina and that he will unite it with Serbia, adopting laws that have been considered illegal by the Bosnian and Schmidt courts.
The Republic of Srpska, which occupies 49% of the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina, was created in 1995 in the Dayton Peace Agreement, which ended the interethnic civil war with about 100,000 dead.
