SARAJEVO/BANJA LUKA -- A court in Sarajevo sentenced Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik to a year in prison and banned him from politics for six years for his defiance of an international peace envoy's orders, a ruling Dodik warned would radicalize the situation in the country.
Bosnia's top court in Sarajevo handed down the sentence on February 26 in a trial that began just over a year ago.
Dodik, who rejected the charges, was accused of failing to execute the decisions of the High Representative to Bosnia-Herzegovina Christian Schmidt in 2023.
"They say I am guilty, but now people here will say why I am not guilty," Dodik told a crowd that had gathered in Banja Luka, the capital of Republika Srpska.
"There is no reason to worry. I have learned to deal with tougher situations. It is important that you are here."
The indictment said Dodik, who has close relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin, signed decrees on laws that had been annulled by Schmidt "even though he was aware that the decisions of [Schmidt] are legally binding."
SEE ALSO: Serbian Police Raids Target NGOs Supported By USAIDDodik's defense said that the evidence of the Prosecutor-General's Office wasn't "based on facts."
The court had guidelines to sentence Dodik to between six months and five years in prison, as well as implementing a ban on public duties. Dodik can appeal the court's February 26 ruling.
Dodik said the Bosnian Serb parliament will ban the operations of the state prosecutor, the state court, and the intelligence agency in the Serb area of Bosnia in response to the case.
The legislature has already instructed Serb representatives in state institutions to block decision-making and law reforms crucial for Bosnia's EU integration.
However, Dodik's stance did not receive the expected support from the opposition, which openly criticized him during an assembly session, highlighting tensions and divisions within the political landscape of Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Dodik is under U.S. and U.K. sanctions for actions that Western governments say are aimed at the secession of Republika Srpska from Bosnia. He has denied that the Serb entity of Bosnia has ever pursued a policy of secession.
Bosnia has been governed under a power-sharing system established by the Dayton agreement, which ended the 1992-95 Bosnian War. It consists of a Bosniak-Croat Federation and the predominantly Serb Republika Srpska.
The country is overseen by a civilian high representative with UN backing and sweeping powers. That position is currently held by Schmidt.
Bosnia was given the status of candidate for European Union membership in December 2022 but has not fulfilled the criteria necessary to start accession talks.