Bosnia and Herzegovina has requested a review of Interpol’s decision to reject a red notice for Milorad Dodik, president of Bosnia’s Serb-majority entity Republika Srpska, and Nenad Stevandić, speaker of the entity’s parliament, officials said on Tuesday.
Interpol had declined to act on a request submitted by Bosnia’s State Court in early April, which followed a March 27 warrant issued while Dodik was visiting Israel. The court had ordered an international arrest warrant for Dodik, Stevandić, and Republika Srpska Prime Minister Radovan Višković after they failed to respond to summonses in an ongoing criminal case.
The three are under investigation for allegedly attempting to undermine Bosnia’s constitutional order. The State Prosecutor’s Office said it requested their detention after they ignored a summons for questioning.
In a separate case, Dodik was sentenced in February to one year in prison and banned from holding public office for six years after being found guilty of failing to enforce decisions issued by the international high representative, Christian Schmidt. The sentence was handed down by the State Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The ruling stated that between July 1 and July 9, 2023, in Banja Luka, Dodik deliberately defied Schmidt’s decision to suspend two Republika Srpska laws, including one that sought to nullify the jurisdiction of Bosnia’s Constitutional Court.
Miloš Lukić, acting director of the Republika Srpska Official Gazette, was acquitted in the same ruling.
Both the prosecution and defence have appealed the verdict against Dodik.
