A Bosnian appeals court on Friday upheld the one-year prison sentence and six-year political ban issued against Milorad Dodik, the president of Republika Srpska, escalating political tensions in the already fragile Balkan nation.

Dodik was convicted over his attempts to undermine Bosnia’s state institutions and push for the secession of the Serb-administered region to eventually merge with neighboring Serbia.

The sentence reaffirms a lower court’s February ruling and marks a significant blow to the controversial leader’s political career. However, Dodik is unlikely to serve time behind bars soon, as he retains strong backing from Serbia and Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has hosted him multiple times since the court decision.

Dodik’s calls for separation have alarmed international observers and reignited fears of renewed conflict in a country still healing from the brutal 1992–1995 war. That war, sparked by Bosnian Serb efforts to join Serbia, left more than 100,000 dead and millions displaced.

In response to his separatist agenda and close ties with Moscow, the former US administration imposed sanctions on Dodik and his allies, citing corruption and the threat to Bosnia’s sovereignty. Despite international pressure, Dodik continues to defy Bosnia’s state structures and reject the authority of Christian Schmidt, the high representative tasked with upholding the 1995 US-brokered Dayton Peace Accords.

The Dayton agreement ended the war and established a complex power-sharing system in Bosnia, dividing the country into two entities: Republika Srpska and the Bosniak-Croat Federation. While each entity was granted broad autonomy, key institutions, including the judiciary, military, and tax administration, remain jointly governed.

Dodik has persistently challenged that structure, often labeling Schmidt’s decisions as illegitimate in Republika Srpska. Under Dayton, the high representative holds sweeping powers to enforce laws and remove officials who threaten the peace framework.