According to a report by the Serbian newspaper Politika on Thursday, Interpol has issued international arrest warrants for the President and the Speaker of the Parliament of the Republika Srpska, the predominantly Serbian part of the Bosnia and Herzegovina confederation.
The warrants, allegedly issued by the Interpol’s Balkan Bureau, accuse President Milorad Dodik and Speaker Nenad Stevandić of violating the constitutional order and the criminal code of Bosnia and Herzegovina, but no details are provided. However, the report suggests that the warrants have not been authorized by the Interpol’s General Secretariat.
After a brutal civil war, Bosnia and Herzegovina was divided into two self-governing entities, the Republika Srpska and the Federation, led by Bosniaks (Bosnian Muslims) and Croats, in the framework of the US-mediated Dayton Agreement of 1995. The country is governed by a three-member presidency, comprising a Bosniak, a Serb and a Croat.
Earlier this month, the Bosnian state prosecutor issued arrest warrants for Dodik, Stevandić and Prime Minister Radovan Višković, accusing them of an “attack on the constitutional order” by enacting laws that restrict the activities of the Bosnian judiciary and law enforcement agencies.
A court in Sarajevo had previously sentenced Dodik to a year in prison for obstructing the decisions of the Bosnian Constitutional Court and for disregarding the authority of the international high representative, Christian Schmidt, a German diplomat. Russia’s UN representation regularly criticizes Schmidt, accusing him of overstepping his authority and fueling the Balkan conflict in a colonial manner. Schmidt has held the office of High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina since 2021, a position established in 1995 under the aegis of the UN.
Dodik denies the allegations, calling them politically motivated.
The Serbian Deputy Prime Minister, Aleksandar Vulin, stated that Belgrade will prevent the arrest of the top officials of the Republika Srpska and described the steps taken by Sarajevo as “a constant act of revenge” against Dodik and the Serbian people.
Moscow also condemned the conviction of Dodik, calling it an “absolutely political” decision by the Bosnian judiciary, based on a “pseudo-law” promoted by Schmidt.