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Russia Today
12-03-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
Arrest warrant issued for Bosnian Serb leadership
Bosnian prosecutors have issued arrest warrants for the president, prime minister, and parliament speaker of Republika Srpska, the predominantly-Serb region within Bosnia and Herzegovina. They are accused of having launched an 'attack on the constitutional order' by enacting laws that restrict the operations of Bosnia's state-level judiciary and law enforcement agencies. Following a brutal civil war that pitted the former Yugoslav region's ethno-religious groups against one another, Bosnia and Herzegovina was divided into two self-governing entities, the ethnically Serbian Republika Srpska and a federation run by Bosniaks (Bosnian Muslims) and Croats, under the US-brokered 1995 Dayton Agreement. As part of this arrangement, the country is ruled by a three-member presidency – a Bosniak, a Serb, and a Croat – and includes an autonomous district at a key crossroads. The warrants were issued despite Banja Luka, the administrative center of Serb-majority Republika Srpska, not recognizing the authority of the Sarajevo-based Prosecutor's Office. The country's Prosecutor's Office issued the order after Bosnian Serb President Milorad Dodik, Prime Minister Radovan Viskovic and Parliament Speaker Nenad Stevandic failed to respond to two summonses for questioning, Serb Republic television reported, citing the regional government. A Sarajevo-based court last month sentenced Dodik to one year in prison and barred him from holding presidential office for six years for obstructing decisions made by Bosnia's constitutional court and defying the authority of international envoy Christian Schmidt. A German national, Schmidt was formally tasked with overseeing the implementation of the 1995 Dayton Peace Agreement. Dodik himself did not attend his sentencing and announced plans for the Republika Srpska National Assembly to reject the court's decision and prohibit the enforcement of any rulings made by Bosnia's state judiciary within its territory. Bosnian Serb lawmakers passed legislation that bans the central judiciary and police from operating within Republika Srpska. Bosnia's Constitutional Court temporarily suspended the laws on March 6, pending a final ruling, but Dodik insisted that the new laws must be implemented. Radovan Kovacevic, the spokesman for Dodik's party, the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats, denied that President Dodik or Republika Srpska had 'attacked' Bosnia's constitutional order. 'No one will arrest or can arrest the state leadership of Republika Srpska. Republika Srpska is not attacking the constitutional order; on the contrary, it is making decisions that it has the right to make, based on the constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Republika Srpska,' Kovacevic said. Commenting on the move, Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandar Vulin has asserted that Serbia will prevent the detention of Republika Srpska's top officials and described the order by the Prosecutor's Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina as a continuous attempt at revenge against Dodik. 'This is revenge against Milorad Dodik and revenge against the Serbs,' Vulin claimed. The Prosecutor's Office has the authority to summon individuals for questioning up to two times. If they fail to comply, a detention order may be issued. If Dodik, Stevandic, and Vickovic resist detention, a national arrest warrant could follow.
Russia Today
26-02-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
Orban blasts conviction of Bosnian Serb leader
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has condemned the conviction of Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik by a court in Sarajevo, describing it as a 'political witch hunt' and a misuse of the legal system against a democratically elected official. Such moves are detrimental to the stability of the Western Balkans, he warned. A Bosnian court sentenced Dodik, the president of Republika Srpska, to one year in prison on Wednesday for obstructing decisions made by Bosnia's constitutional court and defying the authority of international envoy Christian Schmidt, who oversees the implementation of the 1995 Dayton Peace Agreement that concluded the Bosnian war. The court also barred Dodik from holding political office for six years. 'The political witch hunt against President @MiloradDodik is a sad example of the weaponization of the legal system aimed at a democratically elected leader,' Orban wrote on X in response to the court's ruling. 'If we want to safeguard stability in the Western Balkans, this is not the way forward!' Dodik did not attend the sentencing but addressed supporters in Banja Luka afterward, denouncing the ruling as politically motivated and pledging to implement 'radical measures.' He warned that the conviction could deal a 'death blow to Bosnia and Herzegovina' and suggested the possibility of Republika Srpska's secession. In a post on his official X account, Dodik announced plans for the Republika Srpska National Assembly to reject the court's decision and prohibit the enforcement of any rulings from Bosnia's state judiciary within its territory. Republika Srpska would obstruct the operations of Bosnia's central government and police within its jurisdiction, he declared. Dodik has two weeks to appeal the verdict. Legal experts indicate that the sentence will become final once the appeals process is exhausted. Following the verdict, Dodik communicated with Orban and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, expressing gratitude for their support. Vucic has convened an emergency meeting of Serbia's National Security Council to discuss the implications of Dodik's sentence and is expected to visit Republika Srpska within the next 24 hours. Dodik is known for his opposition to NATO and has resisted Bosnia's accession to the US-led military bloc. He has also opposed Western sanctions against Russia related to the Ukraine conflict.
