Dodik sentenced to 1 year in prison, forbidden political activity

Dodik was convicted of committing the criminal act of failing to implement the High Representative's decisions. Dodik did not participate in declaring the sentence.

This is a first - degree decision that can be appealed.

Dodik was accused of signing presidential decrees, with which he validated two unconstitutional laws of Republika Srpska, which had previously been cancelled by the High Representative.

Bosnia and Herzegovina's prosecutor, at the final session on February 19th, asked the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina to pronounce a five-year prison sentence on Dodik, and stop him from political activity for 10 years.

In his final statements, Dodik said that “we must fight together so that Bosnia and Herzegovina is no longer protectorate, but to regain its sovereignty”.

He repeatedly reiterated that Schmidt has been illegally elected and that there is no decision of any institution that says he is the High Representative, so Dodik argued that Schmidt has no legitimacy to change laws.

Serbia's president, Aleksandar Vucic and Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban, were declared against Dodik's sentence.

On February 17th, Vucic said he hopes that “in Bosnia and Herzegovina will not make judicial decisions that could jeopardise stability”.

Orban, on the other hand, called for “preventing Dodik's punishment”.