Bosnia's top court upholds political ban on Bosnian Serb leader Dodik

"Dodik, former president of Bosnia's autonomous Serb Republic or Republika Srpska, was sentenced in February to one year in prison for defying Christian Schmidt, the German diplomat responsible for safeguarding the 1995 peace accords that ended Bosnia's 1990s war. He was also banned from holding political office for six years and stripped of his post as president. Dodik, a pro-Russian nationalist who has pushed for Republika Srpska to break away and join Serbia, had rejected the ruling and vowed to challenge his political ban."

"The case goes back to July 2023, when Dodik pushed through legislation in the Republika Srpska parliament banning the enforcement of all decisions issued by Schmidt, the international envoy. In response, Schmidt used his executive powers to amend Bosnia's criminal code, introducing a new offence for failing to comply with his own rulings the charge under which Dodik was convicted."

"In their Constitutional Court appeal, Dodik's lawyers argued that Schmidt had no authority to intervene in the criminal code, saying only the national parliament was empowered to do so. But the top court on Tuesday ruled that Dodik's claims challenging Schmidt's status and authority were unfounded. The appellant's right to a fair trial was not violated in the criminal proceedings against him, it said in a statement."

Bosnia and Herzegovina's Constitutional Court rejected Milorad Dodik's appeal, finding no violation of his right to a fair trial. Sarajevo courts convicted Dodik after he refused to comply with decisions by international envoy Christian Schmidt, resulting in a one-year prison sentence, a six-year ban from holding political office, and removal from the presidency. The legal dispute began in July 2023 when Dodik's Republika Srpska parliament barred enforcement of Schmidt's decisions. Schmidt amended the criminal code using executive powers to criminalize noncompliance, the basis for Dodik's conviction, and Dodik's lawyers plan to appeal to the European Court of Human Rights.

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