(Adnkronos) – Bosnian Serb President Milorad Dodik was sentenced to one year in prison by a Sarajevo court for his separatist activities, therefore for failing to comply with the pronouncements of the UN High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina, Christian Schmidt, at the end of a trial that lasted one year. The pro-Russian exponent will also not be able to carry out political activities for six years.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called the sentence political. “And it is directed not only against Dodik but also against all Serbian patriotic forces”, Peskov added. Dodik, who was not present in the courtroom yesterday when the sentence was read, had anticipated “radical measures” in response to a possible conviction, including the possible secession of the Sprska republic from the rest of the country to reunite with Serbia.
Dodik, a pro-Russian and supporter of Donald Trump, supported by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, spoke yesterday to thousands of people gathered in his support in Banja Luka. “They say I’m guilty, but now the people who live here will say why I’m not. There’s no reason to worry. I’ve learned to deal with even more difficult situations.” Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić has called an urgent meeting of the National Security Council and then flew to Banja Luka to express his support for Dodik after a sentence he called “shameful, illegal, undemocratic and with the aim of dividing the Sprska republic and the Serbs”.
