Republika Srpska President Milorad Dodik said on Thursday he would not comply with a summons from Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Prosecutor’s Office, which has called him in for questioning over alleged attempts to undermine the country’s constitutional order.
“The legal absurdity of Bosnia is best reflected in the fact that an unconstitutional institution is speaking about the Constitution,” Dodik said, referring to the state prosecutor’s office. “I am being summoned as a suspect for undermining the constitutional order—just for carrying out my constitutional and legal duty following decisions of the Republika Srpska National Assembly.”
Dodik reiterated his long-standing claim that Bosnia’s judiciary is illegitimate, calling the summons part of a “political witch hunt.”
“The speed at which they reacted shows this was premeditated. Prosecutors from the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, who are politically instructed, continue to abuse their unconstitutional position to conduct political persecution,” he said. “I will not go to their political court because Serbs no longer submit to inquisitions.”
Dodik added that he is being targeted because “they cannot prosecute millions of Serbs who refuse to be disenfranchised in their own country.”
“If Dodik fails to appear for questioning as stated, authorities could issue a warrant for his arrest,” legal experts say.