Media Reports: Interpol Contemplating Arrest Warrants for Serb Leaders
Milorad Dodik and Nenad Stevandic of Republika Srpska have reportedly been accused of undermining the constitutional order in Bosnia and Herzegovina. According to the Serbian newspaper ‘Politika,’ Interpol has issued international arrest warrants...
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Milorad Dodik and Nenad Stevandic of Republika Srpska have reportedly been accused of undermining the constitutional order in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
According to the Serbian newspaper ‘Politika,’ Interpol has issued international arrest warrants for the president and the parliament speaker of Republika Srpska, which is a Serb-majority region in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The report states that President Milorad Dodik and Speaker Nenad Stevandic are facing allegations of attacking the constitutional order and violating the Criminal Code of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
These arrest warrants have been circulated to Interpol member states through the organization’s Balkan office, although they have not received approval from the Interpol General Secretariat, as noted by Politika.
Following the brutal civil war, Bosnia and Herzegovina was partitioned into two self-governing entities: the ethnically Serbian Republika Srpska and a federation governed by Bosniaks and Croats, established under the US-brokered 1995 Dayton Agreement. The governance of the country is managed by a three-member presidency, comprising a Bosniak, a Serb, and a Croat.
Earlier this month, Bosnian prosecutors attempted to issue arrest warrants for Dodik, Stevandic, and Prime Minister Radovan Viskovic, accusing them of launching an “attack on the constitutional order” through the enactment of laws that curtailed the functioning of Bosnia’s state-level judiciary and law enforcement.
A court in Sarajevo sentenced Dodik to one year in prison last month for obstructing decisions made by Bosnia’s constitutional court and for defying the authority of the international envoy, Christian Schmidt, who is German.
Dodik has asserted that the charges against him are driven by political motivations, declaring that he would reject the court’s decision and prevent the enforcement of its rulings within the territory of Republika Srpska.
The legal challenges faced by Dodik have also incited strong reactions in neighboring Serbia. Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandar Vulin stated that Belgrade would prevent the detention of high-ranking officials from Republika Srpska and characterized Sarajevo’s actions as a “continuous attempt at revenge” against Dodik and the Serbian population.
Additionally, Moscow has criticized Dodik’s conviction, claiming it is an “absolutely political” decision made by the Bosnia and Herzegovina judiciary, based on a “pseudo-law” advocated by Schmidt.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov warned that “these actions could lead to destabilization,” emphasizing that such measures could have “very negative consequences not just for Bosnia and Herzegovina, but for the Balkans as a whole.”
Camille Lefevre for TROIB News
According to the Serbian newspaper ‘Politika,’ Interpol has issued international arrest warrants for the president and the parliament speaker of Republika Srpska, which is a Serb-majority region in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The report states that President Milorad Dodik and Speaker Nenad Stevandic are facing allegations of attacking the constitutional order and violating the Criminal Code of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
These arrest warrants have been circulated to Interpol member states through the organization’s Balkan office, although they have not received approval from the Interpol General Secretariat, as noted by Politika.
Following the brutal civil war, Bosnia and Herzegovina was partitioned into two self-governing entities: the ethnically Serbian Republika Srpska and a federation governed by Bosniaks and Croats, established under the US-brokered 1995 Dayton Agreement. The governance of the country is managed by a three-member presidency, comprising a Bosniak, a Serb, and a Croat.
Earlier this month, Bosnian prosecutors attempted to issue arrest warrants for Dodik, Stevandic, and Prime Minister Radovan Viskovic, accusing them of launching an “attack on the constitutional order” through the enactment of laws that curtailed the functioning of Bosnia’s state-level judiciary and law enforcement.
A court in Sarajevo sentenced Dodik to one year in prison last month for obstructing decisions made by Bosnia’s constitutional court and for defying the authority of the international envoy, Christian Schmidt, who is German.
Dodik has asserted that the charges against him are driven by political motivations, declaring that he would reject the court’s decision and prevent the enforcement of its rulings within the territory of Republika Srpska.
The legal challenges faced by Dodik have also incited strong reactions in neighboring Serbia. Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandar Vulin stated that Belgrade would prevent the detention of high-ranking officials from Republika Srpska and characterized Sarajevo’s actions as a “continuous attempt at revenge” against Dodik and the Serbian population.
Additionally, Moscow has criticized Dodik’s conviction, claiming it is an “absolutely political” decision made by the Bosnia and Herzegovina judiciary, based on a “pseudo-law” advocated by Schmidt.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov warned that “these actions could lead to destabilization,” emphasizing that such measures could have “very negative consequences not just for Bosnia and Herzegovina, but for the Balkans as a whole.”
Camille Lefevre for TROIB News
