Bosnia Serb lawmakers debate reprisals after Dodik verdict

SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzergovina (AFP) — Lawmakers in Bosnia’s Serb-dominated statelet called an emergency session Thursday to discuss legislative options against the central government after its leader was sentenced to a year in prison for defying an international envoy.

Russia entered the fray to back Milorad Dodik, an ally of President Vladimir Putin, with the Kremlin slamming Wednesday’s verdict as “political.” The European Union called for “respect” for the court ruling.

Legislators are debating potential moves to restrict the power of Bosnia’s central government in the Serb dominated Republika Srpska after the verdict, including measures aimed at federal prosecutors, courts and police.

The case has been widely seen as a test of the divided Balkan nation’s weak central government after the 65-year-old Republika Srpska president was accused of flouting the country’s peace deal.

Dodik was not immediately detained. His attorney Goran Bubic told local media that Dodik had not yet decided whether to appeal.

Dodik was convicted for refusing to comply with rulings by Christian Schmidt, a former German minister who oversees the Dayton accords that ended the 1992-95 intercommunal war in Bosnia, which claimed almost 100,000 lives.

The European Union backed the court.

“The EU expects all political actors in Bosnia and Herzegovina to respect the decisions of the courts and acknowledge their independence and impartiality without applying any pressure or interference,” European Commission spokesman Anouar El Anouni told reporters.

‘Absolutely political’

The Kremlin lambasted the ruling.

“Dodik’s persecution is absolutely political in nature and is directed not only against him, but against all patriotic forces,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

Under Bosnia’s peace deal, the country was split into autonomous halves — a Muslim-Croat federation and the Serb-dominated Republika Srpska. The two are connected by a weak central government, under the supervision of the international high representative.

Dodik pushed through two laws in 2023 previously annulled by Schmidt.

The legislation refused to recognize decisions made by the high representative and Bosnia’s constitutional court in the Republika Srpska.

The move followed months of tensions, as Dodik engaged in a bitter feud with Schmidt.

Denis Becirovic — the Bosniak Muslim member of the tripartite presidency — sought to reassure the public.

“There is no need to panic. People must remain calm,” Becirovic said in an interview with a local broadcaster. “State institutions, together with our allies, must take action.”

Dodik has regularly threatened to pull the Serb statelet out of Bosnia’s central institutions, including its army, judiciary and tax system, which has led to sanctions from the United States.

The Republika Srpska president has also fostered close ties with Russia’s Putin and taken numerous trips to Moscow following the invasion of Ukraine.

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By Agence France-Presse