Slovenia imposes sanctions on Milorad Dodik

The government has barred ousted President of Republika Srpska Milorad Dodik from entering Slovenia in a move effective from 11 September.

The sanction affects Dodik alone and does not extend to his family, Deputy Prime Minister Matej Arčon told reporters after the cabinet endorsed the decision, CE Report quotes The Slovenia Times.

Dodik was stripped of his mandate as president of the Serb entity in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Republika Srpska, in August.

This came after a verdict was upheld jailing him for a year and banning him from politics for six years for defying the rulings of the international envoy who oversees civilian implementation of the Dayton accords. The one-year prison sentence was later replaced with a fine, but the ban on holding public office has stayed in place.

Arčon would not specify the reason for the decision to sanction Dodik, saying the reasoning drawn up by the Foreign Ministry was classified. But he said the ministry provided sound arguments.

Alleged reasons for the move

The news portal N1 reports that there are several reasons for the measure. In addition to Dodik ignoring the court's decision that he step back from his post, there are also his separatist positions and his efforts to undermine Bosnian state institutions and constitution.

Another major reason is reported to be the transfers of significant funds of dubious origin from Republika Srpska and the wider area of the Western Balkans into Slovenia. There is believed to be reasonable suspicion that Dodik and his family hold considerable amounts of red-flagged assets through various individuals and companies in Slovenia.

According to unofficial information cited by N1, they own at least five properties on the coast, which are officially owned by relatives and friends of the Dodik family. One of these properties is said to be a luxurious villa in Portorož.

The N1 writes that the deed for the Portorož villa is made out to Djordje Djurić, the brother-in-law of Dodik's son Igor Dodik. Along with Dodik, Djurić has been subject of sanctions by the US Department of the Treasury since last year.

Serb entity retaliates

The government of Republika Srpska retaliated by barring Slovenian President Nataša Pirc Musar and Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon from entering the Serb entity. It argued Slovenia imposed barred Dodik "without a clear legal basis or reason".

However, the legality and enforceability of the counter-measure have been called into question because border controls are in the jurisdiction of the national police and because of questions surrounding the legitimacy of the government that was formed under Dodik's mandate.

When the Slovenian government started discussing sanctions on Dodik two weeks ago media reported that it also planned to bar Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu but Arčon told reporters the government had not discussed potential sanctions against the Israeli prime minister so far.

"Believe me, we have enough competent experts in our country who know how to assess when and why the time is right for this," he replied when asked why the government was delaying the decision, considering the situation in Gaza.