SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina (AP) — A Bosnian court said Thursday it was seeking an international arrest warrant for Bosnian Serb President Milorad Dodik, who is facing legal action for his separatist policies. The Court of Bosnia-Herzegovina said in a statement that it issued the demand on Wednesday and that the decision is now in the hands […]
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Bosnian court seeks international arrest warrant for pro-Russian Serb president Dodik
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SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina (AP) — A Bosnian court said Thursday it was seeking an international arrest warrant for Bosnian Serb President Milorad Dodik, who is facing legal action for his separatist policies.
The Court of Bosnia-Herzegovina said in a statement that it issued the demand on Wednesday and that the decision is now in the hands of Interpol.
Pro-Russia Dodik, who leads the Serb-run half of Bosnia, has repeatedly called for the separation of the territory from the rest of Bosnia, fueling fears of instability.
He has faced U.S. and British sanctions for his separatism, but he has had the support of Moscow.
Defying Bosnia’s court, Dodik has refused to appear for questioning on suspicion that he violated the country’s constitution. He traveled this week to neighboring Serbia, where he attended an gathering with populist President Aleksandar Vucic, before proceeding to Israel.
Vucic has said Serbia would not arrest Dodik and has criticized legal proceedings against him.
“Nothing unusual, the abuse of justice continues,” Dodik told a Bosnian Serb television in Jerusalem on Thursday when asked about the international arrest warrant. “Bosnia is a failed state.”
The Bosnia court statement also said it is seeking the arrest of Bosnian Serb parliamentary speaker Nenad Stevandic, who also briefly visited Serbia.
Serbia’s Interior Minister Ivica Dacic said on Thursday that both Dodik and Stevandic hold Serbian citizenship. Belgrade has filed a protest note to Interpol over Bosnia’s request, Dacic said in a statement.
There have been fears of clashes between the police loyal to Dodik and the Bosnian police forces, stoking tensions that have pushed Bosnia to the biggest crisis since more than 100,000 people were killed in an ethnic war from 1992 to 1995.
The conflict in Bosnia ended in a U.S.-brokered peace deal that created two administrations bound by central institutions.
Bosnia’s Serbs took up arms after the breakup of the former Yugoslavia in the 1990s to create a state with the aim of joining neighboring Serbia.
Bosnia has been seeking European Union membership, but progress has been slow because of constant ethnic and political disputes.