Latest news with #StateInvestigationandProtectionAgency
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Bosnia state police fail in attempted arrest of Serb leader Dodik
By Daria Sito-Sucic SARAJEVO (Reuters) - Bosnia's state police, SIPA, on Wednesday tried to arrest Serb separatist leader Milorad Dodik who is wanted for attacking the constitutional order but were stopped by his armed police forces, a SIPA spokeswoman said. The state court issued an arrest warrant for Dodik, the president of Bosnia's autonomous Serb Republic, and two of his close allies after they ignored a summons in the investigation of the separatist legislation they initiated and which has been suspended by the constitutional court. Despite the arrest warrant, Dodik continued with his activities and traveled across the Serb-dominated region protected by heavily armed members of the region's police antiterrorist forces. On Wednesday, he arrived in the town of East Sarajevo, bordering the capital Sarajevo, where the State Investigation and Protection Agency headquarters are located. "The SIPA officers today tried to execute the court's order and arrest Republika Srpska (RS) President Milorad Dodik in East Sarajevo," spokeswoman Jelena Miovcic told Reuters. "They talked to the members of the RS police who warned them they will use the force and so prevented them from executing the orders." A Reuters reporter did not see any SIPA officers in front of a government office in East Sarajevo, where Dodik arrived with his entourage, only the members of the Serb Republic police. Dodik initiated Bosnia's biggest political crisis since the end of the country's war in the 1990s after he was sentenced in February to one year in prison and banned from politics for six years over defying rulings by the international envoy, whose role is to prevent multi-ethnic Bosnia from slipping back into conflict. The dispute pits Dodik and his allies Russia and Serbia against the United States and the European Union. Last month, the court ordered an international arrest warrant to be issued for Dodik and his aide after they went abroad in defiance of an internal arrest warrant, but Interpol declined its "red notice" request. A long-time advocate of secession from Bosnia, Dodik had initiated legislation barring the state judiciary and police from operating in the Serb region, but Bosnia's constitutional court temporarily suspended that. The United States and the United Kingdom sanctioned Dodik for violating the terms of a peace deal that ended the country's 1992-1995 war. Earlier this month, Germany and Austria announced they will bar Dodik and his two aides from their territories, accusing him of threatening the security of his fragile country and the region.
Reuters
23-04-2025
- Politics
- Reuters
Bosnia state police fail in attempted arrest of Serb leader Dodik
SARAJEVO, April 23 (Reuters) - Bosnia's state police, SIPA, on Wednesday tried to arrest Serb separatist leader Milorad Dodik who is wanted for attacking the constitutional order but were stopped by his armed police forces, a SIPA spokeswoman said. The state court issued an arrest warrant for Dodik, the president of Bosnia's autonomous Serb Republic, and two of his close allies after they ignored a summons in the investigation of the separatist legislation they initiated and which has been suspended by the constitutional court. Despite the arrest warrant, Dodik continued with his activities and traveled across the Serb-dominated region protected by heavily armed members of the region's police antiterrorist forces. On Wednesday, he arrived in the town of East Sarajevo, bordering the capital Sarajevo, where the State Investigation and Protection Agency headquarters are located. "The SIPA officers today tried to execute the court's order and arrest Republika Srpska (RS) President Milorad Dodik in East Sarajevo," spokeswoman Jelena Miovcic told Reuters. "They talked to the members of the RS police who warned them they will use the force and so prevented them from executing the orders." A Reuters reporter did not see any SIPA officers in front of a government office in East Sarajevo, where Dodik arrived with his entourage, only the members of the Serb Republic police. Dodik initiated Bosnia's biggest political crisis since the end of the country's war in the 1990s after he was sentenced in February to one year in prison and banned from politics for six years over defying rulings by the international envoy, whose role is to prevent multi-ethnic Bosnia from slipping back into conflict. The dispute pits Dodik and his allies Russia and Serbia against the United States and the European Union. Last month, the court ordered an international arrest warrant to be issued for Dodik and his aide after they went abroad in defiance of an internal arrest warrant, but Interpol declined its "red notice" request. A long-time advocate of secession from Bosnia, Dodik had initiated legislation barring the state judiciary and police from operating in the Serb region, but Bosnia's constitutional court temporarily suspended that. The United States and the United Kingdom sanctioned Dodik for violating the terms of a peace deal that ended the country's 1992-1995 war. Earlier this month, Germany and Austria announced they will bar Dodik and his two aides from their territories, accusing him of threatening the security of his fragile country and the region.
Al Jazeera
12-03-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Bosnia orders police to bring in Republika Srpska President Milorad Dodik
The Bosnian Prosecutor's Office has ordered police to arrest Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik and two of his aides for what it called an attack on the constitutional order. The decision taken on Wednesday comes after Dodik, along with Prime Minister Radovan Viskovic and Parliament Speaker Nenad Stevandic, failed to answer two summons for questioning. It also follows a separate case in which Dodik was sentenced to a year in jail and banned from public office for defying the rulings of Christian Schmidt, the international envoy charged with overseeing the peace accords that ended Bosnia's war in the 1990s. Lawmakers are investigating Dodik, the nationalist president of Bosnia's Serb-majority entity, Republika Srpska (RS), for barring the state judiciary and police from the region following his sentencing. These laws were later struck down by Bosnia's top court. Russian-backed Dodik has repeatedly said he does not recognise the Bosnian prosecution office and would not go to Bosnia's capital, Sarajevo, for questioning. Prosecutors have sought the help of Bosnia's State Investigation and Protection Agency in the arrest. It was not clear if the plan was to detain Dodik or to accompany him to answer the summons. In Banja Luka, the northwestern town that is the seat of the Republika Srpska, reports said police had deployed around the parliament building ahead of a session. Tensions building Separately on Wednesday, the RS assembly debated a new draft constitution that would advance the separation process by creating an army and allowing the entity to join a union with neighbouring countries. Dodik's moves, which have been criticised by the United States and the European Union, are seen as part of escalating efforts to break the RS territory away from Bosnia and Herzegovina. RS is one of two regions created under the US-brokered Dayton Peace Agreement to end the 1992-1995 war that killed more than 100,000 people. The other region is the Federation entity, where most Bosniaks and Croats live. The two are linked by a fragile central government in a state supervised by an international authority to stop it from slipping back into conflict. Earlier this week, NATO chief Mark Rutte flew to Sarajevo seeking to bolster support for the country's embattled government, saying the alliance will not allow a 'security vacuum to emerge'.
Voice of America
12-03-2025
- Politics
- Voice of America
Bosnian prosecutors order arrest of Bosnian Serb leader Dodik
Bosnian state prosecutors on Wednesday ordered the arrest of Russian-backed Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik and his aides for ignoring a court summons, raising the stakes in a standoff that threatens the Balkan country's stability. The decision was taken two weeks after a separate case in which Dodik was sentenced to a year in jail for defying the rulings of an international peace envoy, a spokesperson from the state security agency, SIPA, said. Prosecutors have sought the help of Bosnia's State Investigation and Protection Agency (SIPA) in the arrest, which comes after Dodik and aides ignored a court summons. It was not clear if the plan was to detain Dodik or to accompany him to answer the summons. The state prosecutors' office was investigating Dodik, the pro-Russian nationalist president of Bosnia's autonomous Serb Republic, for what it described as an attack on constitutional order after he initiated the adoption of laws barring state judiciary and police from the region after his sentencing. "We have received a request from the court police of Bosnia and Herzegovina to assist them," SIPA spokeswoman Jelena Miovcic said. Serb Republic television, citing the regional government, reported that the state prosecution has also ordered the arrest of Serb Republic Prime Minister Radovan Viskovic and regional parliament president Nenad Stevandic over ignoring summons in the case of the attack on constitutional order. The Serb Republic is one of two regions created to end a 1992-95 war that killed more than 1000,000 people in multi-ethnic Bosnia. They are linked by a weak central government in a state supervised by an international authority to stop it slipping back into conflict.
Yahoo
12-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Bosnian prosecutors order arrest of Bosnian Serb leader Dodik
SARAJEVO (Reuters) - Bosnian state prosecutors have ordered the arrest of Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik and aides after they ignored a summons and have requested assistance from the State Investigation and Protection Agency, a SIPA spokeswoman said on Wednesday.
