SARAJEVO, Aug. 12 (Xinhua) -- The Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) on Tuesday replaced a one-year prison sentence for Republika Srpska President Milorad Dodik with a fine.
Dodik will now pay 36,500 convertible marks (21,664 U.S. dollars) instead of serving time behind bars. The decision followed a proposal from Dodik's defense and the opinion of the BiH Prosecutor's Office.
He was convicted earlier this month for refusing to implement decisions issued in 2023 by Bosnia's High Representative, Christian Schmidt. The court also confirmed a six-year ban on Dodik from holding the office of Republika Srpska president.
Dodik has served as president of Republika Srpska since 2022 and was previously the Serb member of Bosnia's tripartite presidency from 2018 to 2022.
BiH consists of two autonomous entities, Republika Srpska, with a predominantly Serbian population, and the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, mainly inhabited by Bosniaks and Croats. The two entities operate under a weak central government. (1 convertible mark = 0.59 U.S. dollar) ■