Around 20 members of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MUP) of Republika Srpska (RS) were stationed on Thursday, April 24, in front of the administrative center of the RS Government in East Sarajevo, a day after members of the State Investigation and Protection Agency (SIPA) were prevented from entering the building.
As reported by a Radio Free Europe (RFE) correspondent, the police are blocking access to the building, in front of which a group of journalists is gathered. There is no official confirmation whether RS President Milorad Dodik is inside.
According to the official presidential schedule, Dodik was expected to attend the inauguration of the Rectorate building of the University of East Sarajevo at noon on Thursday, followed by meetings with the leaders of the municipalities of Pale and Sokolac.
On Wednesday evening, RS police officers prevented SIPA agents from entering the RS administrative center while Dodik was holding a meeting with representatives of East Sarajevo City.
SIPA confirmed to RFE that its officers intended to act on a warrant issued by the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and that no use of force occurred.
Dodik, along with the Speaker of the RS Assembly, Nenad Stevandić, and RS Prime Minister Radovan Višković, is under investigation for alleged attacks on the constitutional order. The investigation has been underway by the BiH Prosecutor’s Office since late last year.
In mid-March, a central arrest warrant was issued in Bosnia and Herzegovina after the trio failed to respond to a summons for a hearing by the Prosecutor’s Office.
Earlier, the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina had asked Interpol to review its decision to reject a red notice request for these RS officials.
In late February, Dodik was sentenced by the BiH Court in a first-instance verdict to one year in prison and six years of disqualification from political activity for failing to comply with decisions of the High Representative.
A day after the verdict, the RS National Assembly passed unconstitutional laws banning the operation of four state-level institutions within the entity.
