The Prosecutor’s Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina ordered the Judicial Police to summon Milorad Dodik, the president of the Serb-dominated Republika Srpska (RS) semi-autonomous region, and two aides on Wednesday, for questioning regarding their alleged actions against the country’s constitutional order.
Dodik has been blacklisted by the United States for his separatist policies and for corruption. Along with RS Prime Minister Radovan Višković and RS Parliament Speaker Nenad Stevandić, he ignored two summonses for questioning about actions that may have violated the constitution.
The prosecutor’s order followed Dodik’s recent conviction on Feb. 26, when he was sentenced to a year in prison and barred from holding public office for six years for disregarding decisions by Christian Schmidt, the international community’s High Representative overseeing the implementation of Bosnia’s post-war peace accords. The accords include an overarching framework and 11 annexes, one of which—Annex 4—serves as the country’s constitution.
Dodik, along with Višković and Stevandić, fiercely criticized the previous verdict, as well as the latest prosecutor’s order, calling it an attack on all ethnic Serbs and Republika Srpska, and firmly refused to comply with the court’s summons. They also threatened consequences if authorities attempted to arrest them.
He also threatened to seek help from his ally, Russia, while top officials from neighboring Serbia warned of severe consequences if Dodik were arrested. The outgoing Serbian prime minister even threatened a new war in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Rather than complying with the court’s decision, Dodik and his allies escalated separatist actions. They have pushed for constitutional changes, threatened to declare greater autonomy for the RS, and proposed withdrawing Serb nationals from state institutions, including the armed forces and judiciary.Â
Dodik’s list of targeted agencies includes the State Investigation and Protection Agency (SIPA), which handles “efficient prevention of terrorism, organized crime, serious financial crime and corruption, detection and investigation of war crimes and witness protection.”
On the same day the Prosecutor’s Office ordered his arrest, Dodik called a session of the RS assembly to push through laws that would further undermine Bosnia’s constitution.
Dodik also threatened SIPA officers tasked with carrying out his arrest, summoning RS police to protect him and RS institutions.
The Office of the High Representative to Bosnia and Herzegovina warned that these actions constitute a “clear violation of the General Framework Peace Agreement” and cautioned that “all must avoid these and other actions which place the Dayton constitution and institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina at risk.”
Fears that Dodik’s actions could deepen the political crisis in the fragile Balkan state prompted the European Union Force in Bosnia and Herzegovina (EUFOR)—Operation Althea, to increase peacekeeping troops in the country—nearly 30 years after the 1992-95 war.
For over a decade, Dodik has openly called for the dissolution of Bosnia and Herzegovina—a stance that, along with corruption allegations, has led to sanctions against him.
“Dodik has undermined Bosnia and Herzegovina’s institutions by calling for the seizure of state competencies and setting in motion the creation of parallel institutions in BiH’s Republika Srpska entity,” the U.S. Department of the Treasury stated.
U.S. officials also accused Dodik of exploiting his position to enrich himself and his family, claiming he directed government contracts in Republika Srpska to companies linked to him and his son, Igor.
