A hearing was held on Thursday at the Provincial Court in Vienna regarding a lawsuit filed by Milorad Dodik against the Austrian daily newspaper Heute, in which Dodik demanded the publication of a correction concerning an article published in February of this year. However, Judge Daniel Potmesil rejected the request, according to Sarajevo-based Oslobođenje, citing the Austrian portal Vol.at.
According to the report, Dodik’s lawyers argued that the disputed article was inaccurate because, at the time of publication, there was still a possibility that his one-year prison sentence could be converted into a monetary fine.
However, the judge did not accept that argument, stating that “it was clear to any reader, upon reading the article, that the matter was under the jurisdiction of the Court of Appeals of Bosnia and Herzegovina.”
Dodik was ordered to cover the costs of the proceedings but retains the right to appeal to the Higher Provincial Court within 14 days.
Since April of this year, Dodik has also been banned from entering Austria.
He was convicted by the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina and sentenced to one year in prison — a sentence he “paid off” with 18,600 euros — and was additionally banned from holding any public office for six years.
The Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina later upheld the final judgment, rejecting Dodik’s appeal.
