Interpol refuses request to arrest Bosnian Serb leader
Bosnia's state court also confirmed to Reuters that a Red Notice for Dodik and parliament speaker Nenad Stevandic had not come into effect. A Red Notice is a request to law enforcement worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest a person pending extradition, surrender, or similar legal action.
Interpol's decision followed an appeal from neighboring Serbia, which argued that Sarajevo's request was politically motivated and violated Interpol's neutrality principles.
'I just received a call from [Serbian] President Aleksandar Vucic to inform me that… that Interpol rejected the request of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina to issue a red notice for [Speaker Nenad] Stevandic and me,'
Dodik wrote on X on Wednesday.
READ MORE:
Western 'interventionism' has turned Bosnia and Herzegovina into a 'failed state' – Bosnian Serb leader
The Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina had sought the Interpol notice after Dodik defied an arrest warrant at home and traveled to Serbia, Israel, and Russia in March. Dodik and Stevandic have been accused of
'attacking the constitutional order'
by allegedly enacting laws that restrict the operations of Bosnia's state-level judiciary and law enforcement agencies.
Created under the 1995 US-brokered Dayton Peace Agreement, Bosnia and Herzegovina is comprised of the Bosniak-Croat Federation and Republika Srpska, with a tripartite presidency and an international overseer – the Office of the High Representative (OHR).
Dodik has long rejected the OHR's authority, accusing it of overreach and undermining Republika Srpska's autonomy. He was sentenced in February to a year in prison and a six-year political ban for defying the OHR.
The Serbian leadership vowed to prevent the detention of Republika Srpska's top officials and described Sarajevo's moves as a
'continuous attempt at revenge'
against Dodik and the Serbian people.
Russia denounced Dodik's conviction as an
'absolutely political'
decision by the Bosnia and Herzegovina judiciary based on a
'pseudo-law'
pushed through by the OHR.
READ MORE:
Moscow comments on conviction of Bosnian Serb leader
Earlier this week, Dodik visited Russia for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin. In an interview with RT, he said the Dayton Agreement is no longer upheld and that he is seeking Putin's assistance in bringing the situation to the UN Security Council.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Russia Today
9 hours ago
- Russia Today
Putin reveals threat to Russian sovereignty
Russia would inevitably lose its sovereignty if it relies solely on oil and gas revenues and abandons domestic production in favor of imports, President Vladimir Putin has said. In an interview with journalist Pavel Zarubin released on Sunday, Putin defended Russia's decades-long effort to localize automobile manufacturing, saying it was essential for protecting the country's economic and political autonomy. He recalled that in the 1990s many of his government colleagues wanted to abandon efforts to develop the car industry and instead rely on foreign-made vehicles, a view that he opposed. 'We must talk about technological independence… If we buy everything with the oil and gas [revenues] – and now they [the West] are trying to cut us off from oil and gas – then Russia will simply lose its competitiveness, and with it, its sovereignty,' he said. According to Putin, efforts to improve the domestic car industry began with cooperation with Western partners that were licensed to build assembly plants in Russia. Starting in the early 2010s, the authorities gradually tightened localization requirements, demanding that automakers produce more components domestically. 'This was serious work. We were essentially creating our own cars,' Putin remarked, adding that the effort paid off after the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022, which saw an exodus of Western companies from Russia as Kiev's backers introduced sanctions against Moscow. Russia sold about 1.571 million new passenger cars in 2024 (up 48%), with Lada accounting for roughly 28% (436,155 units) and remaining the market leader, according to the analytical agency Autostat. However, all others spots in the top ten were occupied by Chinese brands. Russia's Kamaz also distributed the most trucks in the country last year, despite an overall drop in sales, the agency said. Putin has personally promoted the domestic automobile industry and has often been seen driving Lada and Kamaz vehicles. He also uses a limousine from the Russian luxury brand Aurus as his presidential car. In 2024, he gifted Aurus limos to North Korea's Kim Jong‑un and Bahrain's King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa.
Russia Today
13 hours ago
- Russia Today
Russiagate only tip of iceberg in Western demonization of Russia
US National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard's revelations about the role of former President Barack Obama's administration in the Russiagate scandal are 'shocking,' but they expose only the surface of a broader Western anti-Russia campaign, Professor Oliver Boyd-Barrett has told RT. On Friday, Gabbard released newly declassified documents describing a coordinated effort by senior Obama-era officials – led by Obama himself – to falsely accuse Donald Trump of colluding with Russia during the 2016 election. The documents indicate that Obama ordered officials to discard intelligence assessments that found no Russian involvement in Trump's campaign and replace them with claims blaming Moscow based on fabricated data. The scandal led to the years-long Trump-Russia probe known as 'Russiagate.' 'This is an extraordinary moment, that the head of intelligence in the US has made such a bold, in some ways shocking, statement of the truth,' Boyd-Barrett, a professor at Bowling Green State University and author of an in-depth study of Russiagate, said on Saturday. He noted the moment was especially striking as Gabbard called for prosecution of those involved in what she described as a 'coup' attempt. Boyd-Barrett, however, emphasized that to 'fully comprehend' Russiagate, it must be viewed as only a small part of a broader Western campaign to demonize Russia, 'that goes decades back.' 'It's part of a much deeper agenda – we're talking Russia narrative… the broader context of an anti-Russian campaign that was stoked artificially around the time of the late 90s when the West had so clearly decided that NATO was going to move eastwards regardless of whatever anyone in Russia or anyone in the US had to say,' he said. He also warned against reducing Russiagate to a personal political ploy, noting that blaming it solely on Obama or Hillary Clinton's election anxiety is 'too simple an explanation.' Moscow has repeatedly denied interfering in the US electoral process.
Russia Today
17 hours ago
- Russia Today
US territory bans trans surgery for minors
Puerto Rico has enacted a new law banning sex change surgery and hormone therapy for individuals under 21, setting a higher age limit than any similar legislation across the US. This aligns with the gender-related policies pursued by the federal government. Signed on Wednesday, the law introduces harsh penalties, including up to 15 years in prison and fines of up to $50,000, for those found guilty of performing surgery or providing hormone replacement therapy to minors and young adults. It also mandates the revocation of all licenses and permits of medical personnel involved. The law also prohibits the use of public funds for these treatments. 'Minors, having not yet reached the necessary emotional, cognitive, and physical maturity, are particularly vulnerable to making decisions that can have irreversible consequences,' the legislation, set to take effect in October, states. Puerto Rico's LGBTQ+ Federation has condemned the measure as discriminatory and dangerous, warning it will further isolate trans youth and potentially drive them to seek unregulated or unsafe alternatives. Director Justin Jesus Santiago has vowed to challenge the law's constitutionality in court, arguing it contradicts Puerto Rico's constitution. US President Donald Trump made gender-related issues a central theme of his campaign last year. Since taking office, he has issued executive orders asserting the government policy that 'there are only two genders – male and female.' These orders roll back protections for transgender rights, as well as diversity, equity, and inclusion programs. They end federal support for medical procedures related to sex change for minors, eliminate 'radical gender ideology' from the US Armed Forces, and bar trans women from competing in women's sports. Trump's approach has drawn criticism from civil rights and LGBTQ advocacy groups. Several directives have faced legal challenges, with federal judges blocking some orders. Puerto Rico's law stands out among dozens of similar measures passed in around half of the states. While most laws apply to individuals under 18, Puerto Rico raises the age limit to 21, making it the strictest legislation currently in effect in any US jurisdiction.
