Prosecutors in Bosnia and Herzegovina issued an arrest warrant on Wednesday for the leader of Bosnian Serbs, Milorad Dodik, who is supported by Russia, and his associates for defying a court order to appear. The decision could increase the threat to the stability of this Balkan country.
The warrant comes two weeks after Milorad Dodik was sentenced to one year in prison for opposing the decisions of an international peace envoy, according to a spokesperson from the state security agency, SIPA.
Prosecutors have requested assistance from the State Investigation and Protection Agency of Bosnia (SIPA) for his arrest.
However, it is unclear whether the arrest of Mr. Dodik is expected, or simply the enforcement of the order for him to appear in court.
The state prosecutor’s office was investigating Milorad Dodik, the pro-Russian nationalist president of Bosnia’s Republika Srpska, for attacking the constitutional order after he initiated a process to pass laws that hindered the judiciary and police from implementing the decision for his conviction.
“We received a request from the judicial police of Bosnia and Herzegovina to assist them,” said SIPA spokesperson Jelena Miovčić.
The Republic of Srpska Television, citing the regional government, reported that the state prosecution had also ordered the arrest of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Srpska, Radovan Višković, and the President of the regional parliament, Nenad Stevandić, for ignoring the court’s request for compulsory appearance regarding the issue of attacking the constitutional order, according to VOA.
The Republika Srpska is one of the two entities created to end the 1992-95 war, during which over 100,000 people were killed in multi-ethnic Bosnia.
They are linked by a weak central government in a state overseen by an international authority to prevent a return to conflict.
