After a failed attempt to arrest Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik on Wednesday, the State Investigation and Protection Agency (SIPA) has sent a report to the Prosecutor’s Office and the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina regarding the commission of criminal offences. According to media reports, the new charges include preventing an official from performing an official act and assisting a perpetrator after committing a criminal offence.
SIPA agents attempted to detain Dodik during a meeting held by the President of Republika Srpska—one of the two constituent entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina—in East Sarajevo, the capital of the Western Balkan state. SIPA spokesperson Jelena Miovčić said that agency members ‘tried to implement a (court) order, but SIPA members were prevented by the Republika Srpska police.’ According to the Associated Press, no violence was reported, and photos from the scene showed unarmed Bosnian police inspectors and armed Serb police outside a government building.
However, Sarajevo Times reported on Friday that SIPA informed the State Prosecutor’s Office and the Court that the arrest of Milorad Dodik at the Administrative Centre of the Government of Republika Srpska in East Sarajevo was not carried out because members of the RS Ministry of Interior opposed it with the threat of force. The agency reportedly identified the individuals who obstructed the arrest.
On 26 February, the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina sentenced Dodik to one year in prison and barred him from holding public office for six years, citing his failure to comply with rulings issued by former and current High Representatives, Valentin Inzko and Christian Schmidt, respectively. Many observers, including Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, described the trial and verdict as politically motivated.
Rejecting the legitimacy of the court, Dodik announced that he would not comply with the verdict. He subsequently proposed several constitutional amendments in Republika Srpska aimed at curbing the power of state institutions and authorities within the entity. In mid-March, Sarajevo authorities issued two arrest warrants for Dodik—one federal and one international.
Following the failed arrest attempt, Dodik posted two statements on X criticizing High Representative Christian Schmidt and the federal institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina. ‘Every policeman, every doctor, every professor, every surveyor in the Republika Srpska police force knows that behind every stamp and every uniform is the legitimacy of the will—the election—of a million Serbs,’ he wrote. He added that Republika Srpska does not consent to legal violence, political silencing, or ‘to a lower level of historical subordination which endangers our sacrifice, our will and our right to live in peace, in peace and under our own laws’.
In an earlier interview with Hungarian Conservative, Dodik stressed that ‘the leadership of Republika Srpska is the only defender of the constitution in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and every democratic political leader and community in the world can understand what it means to fight for the right and sovereignty in decision-making, against foreign interventionism.’
Regarding his conviction, he asserted that he acted ‘solely in accordance with the constitutions and laws’ of both Bosnia and Herzegovina and Republika Srpska. He added that this is precisely why he believes federal authorities will not succeed in arresting him.
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