A hearing was held at the Provincial Court in Vienna on Thursday on Milorad Dodik's lawsuit against the Austrian daily newspaper "Heute", from which he requested the publication of a denial regarding an article published in February this year, but Judge Daniel Potmesil denied such a request, Sarajevo's "Oslobođenje" reported, citing the Austrian portal Vol.at.
According to the text, Dodik's lawyers claimed that the disputed text was incorrect, because at the time of its publication there was still a possibility that his one-year prison sentence could be replaced with a fine.
The judge, however, did not accept that argument, stating that "it was clear to the reader, as soon as he read the text, that the Appellate Court of BiH had jurisdiction over the matter."
Dodik will bear the costs of the proceedings, and he has the option to file an appeal with the Higher Provincial Court within 14 days.
He has been banned from entering Austria since April this year.
In court proceedings before the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Dodik was sentenced to one year in prison, which he "paid off" with 18.600 euros, as well as a six-year ban on holding public office.
The final verdict of the Court of BiH was also confirmed by the Constitutional Court of BiH, to which Dodik appealed the verdict.
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