UPDATE - Bosnia prosecutors order detention of Serb leader for ‘threatening constitutional order’

​​​​​​​By Talha Ozturk

SARAJEVO, Bosnia and Herzegovina (AA) - The Bosnian Prosecutor's Office ordered the detention of Serb leader Milorad Dodik on Wednesday on charges of "threatening the constitutional order."

Dodik is the president of Republika Srpska (RS), the Serb-majority entity in Bosnia.

The prosecutor's office also ordered the detention of RS Prime Minister Radovan Viskovic and National Assembly President Nenad Stevandic.

The move came ahead of a planned RS National Assembly session aimed at drafting a new Constitution.

The detention order has been forwarded to police and the RS Interior Ministry, according to reports,

- Dodik: I will ask Russia to veto and not allow the EU’s peacekeeping mission to remain in Bosnia

Dodik stated in a news conference in Banja Luka, following the arrest warrant, that he would soon meet the highest representatives of the Russian Federation and request that they veto the extension of the European Union Force (EUFOR) Operation Althea in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

“Unlike all the previous years when I asked for Althea to stay, now I will ask the Russians to veto and not allow a subversived structure to remain that abuses the mandate of the United Nations and threatens us Serbs here, by bringing some forces just because it wants to in Sarajevo," said Dodik

Viskovic said he would not comply with the order of the prosecutor's office.

"I will never come to that court and prosecutor's office in Sarajevo of my own free will. Only because I do not trust them and because I do not expect fairness and a fair trial from them," said Višković.

He added that he is not afraid of threats.

"Go ahead, carry out your threat. You are shooting from an empty gun, but you are creating a situation where someone might shoot from a loaded gun," he added

- Parliamentary immunity

The Chairman of the RS National Assembly, Nenad Stevandic, noted that representatives of the assembly have immunity under the RS Constitution.

"We are in an anti-war position, but that does not mean that we will not use the right to self-defense," said Stevandic.

-Arrest warrant to bring destabilization to the region

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic described the arrest warrant for RS leadership as a contribution to the destabilization of the region.

"It is a contribution to the destruction of mutual ties and a contribution to creating complete chaos in the region," Vucic said on Instagram.

*He stated that Serbia will always fight for peace but stand by the Republika Srpska and its leadership.

"Because there is no country in the world in the 21st century where entity presidents, entity parliament presidents, and entity prime ministers are being forced into prison, behind bars, just because of political disagreements," he said.

Outgoing Serbian Prime Minister Milos Vucevic expressed concern that Republika Srpska is under threat.

"If you want to detain the entire 'state' leadership and practically nullify the will of the citizens, then we cannot help but state that Republika Srpska is under threat," said Vucevic.

-Court ruling and political fallout

In February, a Bosnian court sentenced Dodik to one year in prison and barred him from politics for six years for defying the authority of the top international official overseeing the implementation of the 1995 Dayton Peace Agreement.

Following the court ruling, the RS National Assembly voted to ban state institutions – including the Supreme Judicial and Prosecutorial Council, the Prosecutor's Office, the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the Investigation and Protection Agency (SIPA) – from operating within the RS entity.

Dodik, who signed measures defying Bosnia’s constitution, has stated that he will not comply with court or prosecutor’s office summons once the disputed laws take effect, claiming he will be protected by the RS police.

The national media have described these actions as a "coup," while the Bosnian Constitutional Court annulled his controversial decisions.

- International response

Bosnia and Herzegovina's High Representative Christian Schmidt issued a strong warning regarding the proposed RS constitution draft.

Zeljka Cvijanovic, the Serb member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, called for the US to support a "rehabilitation" of the Dayton Peace Agreement.

"Bosnia can only overcome its current political and constitutional crisis through open and sincere internal dialogue, with support from neighboring countries," Cvijanovic said.

"I also believe that this process should be led by the strong leadership of the Trump administration because only that administration can address the negative legacy of various bureaucrats and globalist elites who, through their interventions in Bosnia and Herzegovina, have turned it into a failed project," she added.

On Thursday, the EU called on Dodik to "refrain from provocative, divisive rhetoric and actions that question the country’s sovereignty, unity, and territorial integrity."

- Sentenced for disobeying international envoy

Dodik has repeatedly called for Republika Srpska’s secession from the rest of the country, with the possibility of joining neighboring Serbia.

After his sentencing, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic traveled to Bosnia to show his support for Dodik.

Dodik’s sentence stems from his long-standing conflict with Christian Schmidt, the international envoy overseeing Bosnia’s post-war governance. Under the US-sponsored Dayton Peace Agreement, Schmidt has the authority to impose decisions and amend laws in the country.

In June 2023, the RS legislative body ruled that Schmidt’s decisions should no longer be published in the entity’s Official Gazette.

Schmidt later announced that he had overturned this decision, but RS authorities ignored him, allowing the measure to take effect.

As a result, a lawsuit was filed against Dodik and Milos Lukic, director of the RS Official Gazette, for failing to comply with the high representative’s directives.