Bosnian authorities issued an international arrest warrant on Thursday for Milorad Dodik, the political leader of the Bosnian Serbs, who is currently in Israel.
The State Court of Bosnia announced that it had received a proposal from the prosecutor’s office on 26 March to issue the warrant against Dodik, the President of Republika Srpska (RS), one of the two autonomous entities in Bosnia.
The request now awaits validation by Interpol. An international arrest warrant has also been issued for Nenad Stevandic, the president of the RS Parliament.
According to the court, Dodik and Stevandic crossed the border, avoiding legal border control procedures. Both leaders have been under a national arrest warrant since 18 March, alongside the Prime Minister of Republika Srpska, Radovan Viskovic.
Viskovic has not left the country, and his name is not mentioned in the court’s statement.
The investigation stems from legislation passed by the RS Parliament in late February, which illegally prohibited the central judiciary and police from operating in its territory.
Dodik has refused to respond to the State Prosecutor’s summons for questioning and remains at large due to the perceived risk of attempting his arrest. He left Bosnia earlier this week, travelling first to Serbia and then to Israel to attend an international conference on antisemitism.
The border police have launched an inquiry to determine how he managed to leave the country without being checked at a border post.
