Dodik defies arrest in RS, federal police forced to back off
Dodik, the president of the Bosnian Serb statelet, is wanted by Bosnia's central judiciary after a series of secessionist moves, but continues to defy an arrest warrant issued in mid-March.
Since the end of its bloody inter-ethnic war in the 1990s, Bosnia remains split into two highly autonomous halves -- the Serbs' Republika Srpska (RS) and a Muslim-Croat Federation, linked by a weak central government.
On Wednesday, federal police officers tried to enter an official building in East Sarajevo, a Serb-controlled town near the Bosnian capital, to arrest Dodik but were blocked by Bosnian Serb interior ministry forces.
'Our colleagues from the RS ministry simply weren't cooperative, or rather, they believed that it shouldn't be carried out, that it could perhaps lead to some conflict,' said Jelena Miovcic, spokeswoman for the federal police force (SIPA).
'We simply assessed that proceeding might cause bigger problems... In the end, we didn't go in armed... It was meant to be handled in a civilised way, to explain things clearly -- that we are legally obliged to enforce the court order from Bosnia and Herzegovina,' she told AFP.
Dodik accused the federal police at an improvised press conference Wednesday night of 'violating RS laws', referring to RS parliament legislation banning the federal police and judiciary from the statelet.
Dodik, 66, has repeatedly refused to follow rulings from the international high representative who oversees the Bosnian peace deal.
The court of Bosnia and Herzegovina convicted him in February, sentencing him to one year in prison and banning him from holding public office for six years.
Dodik rejected the ruling and, in response, barred the federal police and judiciary from operating in Republika Srpska.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Star
22 minutes ago
- The Star
Ukraine protects Europe from Kremlin aggression, Russian dissident Yashin says
Ilya Yashin, a prominent Russian opposition politician in exile, speaks about Russia under Putin, in Belgrade, Serbia, August 1, 2025. REUTERS/Zorana Jevtic BELGRADE (Reuters) -Europe must start seeing Ukraine as a European country, and the Ukrainian military as a European army, Ilya Yashin, a prominent Russian opposition activist, said in Belgrade on Friday. "The Ukrainian army is not only protecting Ukraine, it is protecting Europe from Russian aggression," he told hundreds of Russians who now live in Serbia. Yashin was imprisoned in 2022 for criticising Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine and released last year, alongwith 15 other prisoners in Russian and Belarusian jails. His speech at a Belgrade concert hallwas the firstsuch public appearance of a high-profile Russian dissident in Serbia since 2022. Between February 2022 and 2024, more than 74,000 Russians registered for temporary residence in Serbia, according to the latest Interior Ministry data, many fleeing conscription or persecution for their opposition to President Vladimir Putin. "This is a meeting with a true hero," said Petr Nikitin, a Belgrade-based Russian and an anti-war activist who came to hear Yashin. Serbia's relations with Moscow soured this year after Russia's SVR spy agency complained about sales of ammunition to Ukraine, and Yashin's visit would likely further complicate their ties. The Russian embassy to Serbia could not be immediately reached for comment. Serbia, which aspires to join the European Union, balances its policies between its historical ties to Russia and the West. Belgrade has repeatedly condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine, but has refused to join Western sanctions against Moscow. In May, President Aleksandar Vucic travelled to Moscow to meet with Putin and attend a parade marking the 80th anniversary of the victory in World War Two. ButBelgrade also recognises Ukraine in its entirety, including territories held by Russia. In June, Vucic visited Ukraine for the first time. Russia remainsSerbia's biggest gas supplier, and theBalkan country's only oil refinery is majority-owned by Gazprom and Gazprom Neft. (Aleksandar VasovicEditing by Rod Nickel)
The Star
3 hours ago
- The Star
BiH court upholds Serb leader's 1-yr sentence
SARAJEVO, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- The Appellate Division Panel of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) on Friday upheld a one-year prison sentence for Republika Srpska President Milorad Dodik, confirming his conviction for refusing to implement decisions issued by the High Representative in BiH. The ruling follows a public hearing held on June 12, during which both the prosecution and defense filed appeals. The court rejected both appeals and upheld the initial verdict. The decision is final and cannot be challenged further. In addition to the prison term, the court imposed a six-year ban on Dodik from holding the office of President of Republika Srpska, effective from the date the verdict becomes final. The incarceration period will not be counted toward the duration of the ban. The court reaffirmed that Dodik had been found guilty of failing to enforce decisions by the High Representative in BiH, who oversees the civilian implementation of the Dayton Peace Agreement. In the same case, Milos Lukic, acting director of the Official Gazette of Republika Srpska, was acquitted of identical charges. The court found no legal basis for his conviction and upheld the initial not-guilty verdict. Bosnia and Herzegovina is composed of two autonomous entities: Republika Srpska, with a predominantly Serbian population, and the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, primarily inhabited by Bosniaks and Croats. The two entities operate under a weak central government.
New Straits Times
5 hours ago
- New Straits Times
'There is still hope': Pilgrims from war zones gather in Rome
KHADER Qassis travelled 32 hours from the West Bank, passing military checkpoints across three countries, to join hundreds of thousands of other young Catholics in Rome for a week-long pilgrimage. While Rome thronged with singing pilgrims, the 20-year-old from Bethlehem said he felt some guilt that he was in the cheerful Italian capital while starvation was spreading in Gaza, which has been besieged by Israel for months. "It's hard when there are people in Gaza dreaming just to eat and I'm travelling," Qassis told AFP. The Vatican is holding its "Jubilee of Youth" this week, with up to a million 18-to-35 year-olds expected to take part. The Vatican has singled out pilgrims from conflict zones – especially Iraq, Lebanon, Syria and Ukraine – that made major "sacrifices" to get to the Eternal City. For many living in war-scarred countries, the trip was a chance to experience a breath of normalcy. "Being here lets us feel that we're free," said Jessie Khair, an 18-year-old Palestinian woman from the West Bank, wearing a black kufiyah scarf. She was moved by the outpouring of sympathy over Gaza, "far from the borders, checkpoints and anything that could hurt us." At the majestic St Peter's Square, a group of pilgrims waved a Syrian flag. Father Fadi Syriani was accompanying a group of 11 Syrian youths, many of whom left their country for the first time. "It is a generation that has grown up in the years of war that started in 2011," he told AFP, saying that Syrian Christian youths, a tiny minority in the country, felt "isolated" from the rest of the Church. Many Christians have fled war in Syria, where a recent attack on a Damascus church killed 25 people. In Rome, Syriani said, the youths can "witness that there is still hope." The Vatican's youth event is also unfolding as Moscow pounds Ukraine with more deadly attacks despite Western ultimatums to end its invasion. Leo XIV, who became pope in May, has brought hope to many Ukrainians after his predecessor pope Francis had repeatedly made comments that infuriated Ukrainians, who accused him of giving in to Russian imperialism. "For the last few months, the communication is better than what it was," said 23-year-old Svitlana Tryhub, from the front-line city of Zaporizhzhia but now living in Lviv near the Polish border. "It's important to be balanced, but it is important to be brave and speak up," she said. Most of Ukraine's pilgrims came from western Ukraine, the most religious part of the country, with the largest share of Greek Catholics, who pledge allegiance to the Vatican. Because of the ban on military-age men from leaving Ukraine, almost all were women. Valerie Fabianska, an 18-year-old economy student, said she could "forgive" or pray alongside Russians only if those responsible for the invasion were jailed and their country "accepted its crimes" against Ukraine. She said the war had made her more religious. "When the world around you is so unstable, you can find some peace and stability in God," she said, acknowledging nonetheless that it was "really hard." At Rome's Ukrainian Greek Catholic church, an all-women choir sang amid a "prayer for Ukraine." Maria Khrystofora, a young nun from a western Ukrainian monastery, said she had noticed that more of her countrymen were coming to the church during the war. "When people have nothing human to rely on, they turn to God to help them," she said.
