Belgrade, 12 March 2025 (dpa/MIA) - The Bosnian prosecutor's office has issued arrest warrants for key political leaders of the Serb-dominated territory, the Republika Srpska (RS), accusing them of violating the constitution, media reports said on Wednesday.

RS President Milorad Dodik, RS Prime Minister Radovan Višković and RS Parliamentary Speaker Nenad Stevandić are wanted for engaging in anti-constitutional activities aimed at undermining Bosnia-Herzegovina's constitutional order, Bosnian news portal klix.ba reported, citing judicial sources.

The warrants followed recent moves by the RS parliament to pass laws intended to strip Bosnian state courts, prosecutors and federal police of their authority within RS territory.

These laws would criminalize the work of state judicial bodies in the region, a move swiftly annulled by the Bosnian Constitutional Court as unconstitutional.

Dodik, a long-time ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, spearheaded the legislation and signed it into law, only to reject the court's ruling, declaring that the RS does not recognize its decisions.

The arrest warrants allow any police authority in Bosnia to detain the RS leaders — but enforcing them may prove difficult. RS police forces, under the control of the RS government, are unlikely to carry out the arrests.

Meanwhile, Bosnia’s federal law enforcement agency, SIPA, could face violent resistance if it attempts to act on RS territory.

Border control and airspace monitoring, however, remain under the authority of the Bosnian state, adding another layer of complexity to the stand-off.

Photo: EPA