BANJA LUKA – Supporters of separatist Bosnian Serb President Milorad Dodik rallied on Tuesday as tensions soared on the eve of a scheduled court verdict that could order the pro-Russia Serb leader banned from politics or even sentenced to prison.
A court hearing in Bosnia is set for Wednesday to hand down the ruling in a yearlong case against Dodik on charges that he disobeyed the top international envoy overseeing peace in the Balkan country.
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If convicted, Dodik could face up to five years in prison and a ban from engaging in politics for up to 10 years.
Dodik has said that he would disobey any conviction and threatened “radical measures” in response, including eventual secession of the Serb-run entity in Bosnia called Republika Srpska from the rest of the country.
Bosnia’s civil war pitted Bosniaks, who are mostly Muslims, Serbs and Croats against each other and ended with a U.S.-sponsored peace agreement in 1995 that created two regions, Republika Srpska and the Bosniak-Croat Federation.
The two regions were given wide autonomy, but kept some joint institutions, including the army, top judiciary and tax administration. Bosnia also has a rotating three-member presidency made up of Bosniak, Serb and Croat members.
Dodik said that he wouldn't attend Friday’s court hearing. He's unlikely to be sent to prison, because he enjoys the full support of Serbia's populist president, Aleksandar Vucic, who can provide shelter to him in Belgrade. Dodik is also expected to appeal a possible conviction.
He has repeatedly called for the separation of the Serb-run half of Bosnia, which prompted the United States and the United Kingdom to impose sanctions against him and his close allies. Dodik is also accused of corruption and pro-Russia policies.
Dodik's separatist threat stoke fears in Bosnia, where ethnic carnage from 1992-95 left 100,000 people killed and displaced millions. The Dayton Accords ended the war nearly three decades ago.
Dodik has had Russian support for his separatist policies. He has also openly praised U.S. President Donald Trump, while guests at the support rally on Tuesday included former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani.
Dodik's supporters waved flags with his image during the rally, which several thousand people attended in the northwestern town of Banja Luka.
He told the crowd that the trial against him was directed against Serbs in Bosnia.
“They could not put you all in prison, so they chose me instead," he told the crowd.
Earlier on Tuesday, High Representative Christian Schmidt, who is in charge of the international body in Bosnia that oversees the implementation of the 1995 Dayton Accords, sought to assure Bosnia's citizens that the situation in the country would remain stable.
“Be assured, the international community remains vigilant,” Schmidt said. “The international community remains firmly committed to peace and stability in this region. (The unity of) Bosnia and Herzegovina is not negotiable.”
Dodik has repeatedly clashed with Schmidt and declared his decisions illegal in Republika Srpska. The Dayton peace agreement envisages that the high representative can impose decisions and change laws in the country.
The war in Bosnia erupted when the country's Serbs rebelled against the country's independence from the former Yugoslavia and moved to form a mini-state of their own with the aim of uniting it with neighboring Serbia.
Like other countries in the troubled Balkans, Bosnia is seeking European Union membership but progress has been slow.