The head of Republika Srpska asked Russia for help after the verdict

Head of the Republika Srpska (RS, an entity within Bosnia and Herzegovina) On August 1, Milorad Dodik turned to Russia, Serbia and the United States for help after the appeals chamber of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) upheld his sentence of one year in prison and a six-year ban on political activity.

"It's about a purely political decision and political will. The Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina is a political court. <...> I have not committed a single criminal offense provided for by the laws of Bosnia and Herzegovina," N1 BiH TV channel quoted Dodik as saying on its YouTube channel.

The head of the RS added that the institutions of the entity will determine their own attitude to this verdict. He noted that he would accept any decision of the parliament, but did not agree with the verdict.

"I expect full support from Serbia, I will turn to Russia for support, I will explain, and we will write letters <...> to the new American administration," Dodik said.

He also addressed the Serbs living in the RS and said that if they "don't wake up now" they will become a national minority "in five years".

Dodik is not free: Bosnia decided to detain the head of Republika Srpska

A new conflict may flare up in the Balkans

On February 26, the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) sentenced the President of Republika Srpska, Milorad Dodik, to a year in prison in absentia in the case of non-compliance with the decisions of the UN High Representative in BiH, Christian Schmidt. In addition, he was banned from political activities for six years. Dodik himself did not appear in the courtroom.

On March 12, the Prosecutor's Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) decided to detain Dodik. On April 23, employees of the State Investigation and Security Agency tried to carry out this in Eastern Sarajevo in the RS, but employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the entity prevented it.

Prior to that, on February 27, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the criminal prosecution of the President of Republika Srpska in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), Milorad Dodik, was political and reprehensible.

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