Bosnian Serb leader slams EU ‘attack’ after judicial ruling
The president of Republika Srpska, Milorad Dodik, has accused the EU of attacking his nation after a Bosnian appeals court upheld a prison sentence against him and a ban on his political activity.
A Sarajevo-based court has sentenced Dodik to one year in prison and barred him from holding presidential office for six years, claiming he was obstructing decisions made by Bosnia’s constitutional court and defying the authority of the High Representative (HR), a Western official who oversees the implementation of the 1995 Dayton Peace Agreement.
The current HR is Christian Schmidt, a German politician who was never approved by the UN Security Council. Dodik has long accused the OHR of violating the Bosnian constitution by usurping powers and infringing on the autonomy of Republika Srpska.
The court in Sarajevo ruled that Dodik acted illegally when he signed legislation that made the peace envoy’s decrees non-binding in Republika Srpska and suspended the enforcement of Constitutional Court rulings on its territory.
Dodik rejected the ruling on Friday, vowing to continue in office as Bosnian Serb president.
”This is an attack on [Republika Srpska]! This is a purely political decision…” he stated, as quoted by various media outlets.
He also claimed the EU was behind the judgement, accusing Brussels of trying to flex its power amid broader failures on issues like the Ukraine conflict and US tariffs. He pledged to seek support from Serbia, Russia, and the US.
Bosnia and Herzegovina consists of two entities – the Bosniak-Croat Federation and Republika Srpska – under a tripartite presidency and the oversight of the OHR. The country was granted EU candidate status in 2022.
Dodik has opposed Bosnia’s EU accession and integration with NATO, calling instead for closer ties with Russia. He previously suggested that Bosnia would be better off in BRICS and has pledged continued cooperation with Moscow despite Western pressure.
Moscow has denounced Dodik’s conviction as “absolutely political” and based on a “pseudo-law” pushed through by the OHR. The Kremlin questions Schmidt’s legitimacy, arguing that his appointment as the high representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina never received the approval of the UN Security Council, which is typically required in such cases.
