The President of Republika Srpska (RS), Milorad Dodik, voluntarily appeared at the Prosecutor's Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina, accompanied by his defense attorney, for questioning as a suspect in the investigation due to reasonable suspicion that he committed the crime of "Attack on the Constitutional Order".

This was announced by the Prosecutor's Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH).

Dodik has been avoiding arrest for several months under a central warrant issued in the country due to the impossibility of being heard in this investigation.

On the same day, at the request of the Prosecutor's Office of BiH, Dodik was brought before the Court of BiH and a hearing was held. The Court issued a decision accepting the Prosecutor's Office's request and canceling his arrest, as it was established that the reasons for which he was previously ordered no longer exist.

He was also ordered to report periodically to a state authority, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported.

The bans imposed under this decision can continue for as long as they are needed, or until another decision by the Court.

The justification for the duration of the imposed bans will be reviewed every two months.

“The suspect was specifically warned that he could be detained if he violates the obligations under certain bans,” the joint statement of the Court and the Prosecutor’s Office of BiH concluded.

On February 26, the Court of BiH issued a first-instance verdict, sentencing Dodik to one year in prison and a six-year ban from holding the office of President of the Republika Srpska.

Dodik was found guilty of disobeying the decisions of High Representative Christian Schmitt and signing a decree promulgating laws that Schmitt had previously repealed.

These laws attempted to prevent the implementation of decisions of the Constitutional Court of BiH and the High Representative on the territory of Republika Srpska, which had previously repealed laws adopted by the entity parliaments related to the registration of state property in the entities, or laws on holidays.

The BiH Prosecutor's Office announced at the time that it had been conducting an investigation since December 2024 due to the existence of grounds for suspicion that the crime of "attack against the constitutional order" had been committed.

In March of this year, this judicial institution issued an order to the judicial police to detain Republika Srpska President Milorad Dodik, Prime Minister Radovan Višković, and the Speaker of the Republika Srpska National Assembly Nenad Stevandić.

The arrest warrant charges them with committing the crime of "attack against the constitutional order".

The order was issued on the day the RS National Assembly was to discuss the draft RS Constitution, with which the RS authorities plan to define the educational entity in BiH as a state of the Serbian people, grant it the right to self-determination, establish its own army and abolish the Council of Peoples.

The BiH Criminal Code provides for sentences of up to 5 years in prison and a ban on holding office if someone “illegally attempts to change the constitutional order of Bosnia and Herzegovina or to overthrow its highest institutions”.

Meanwhile, the BiH Constitutional Court has also issued a temporary measure to suspend the Law on the Special Register and Publicity of the Work of Non-Profit Organizations. The request was filed by Kemal Ademović, Deputy Speaker of the House of Peoples of the BiH Parliamentary Assembly.

This law, adopted by the RS Assembly, introduces strict control over the work of the civil sector in RS, modeled on Russian legislation.

Dodik said the laws would be implemented despite this decision.

The latest laws were met with almost unanimous condemnation around the world, from US Secretary of State Marco Rubio to NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and several foreign embassies in BiH. | BGNES