Dodik refused to accept summons for questioning, central search warrant to be issued soon

(Patria) - Republika Srpska President Milorad Dodik today refused to accept a summons for questioning by the Prosecutor's Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Istraga.ba has learned. The questioning was scheduled for tomorrow. The Prosecutor's Office of BiH sent this summons via the State Investigation and Protection Agency (SIPA).

Given that Dodik will likely not respond to the questioning, the Prosecutor's Office of BiH is considering the possibility of issuing an order for his forced appearance as early as tomorrow.

For now, however, it has not yet been precisely determined which police agency will be issued the order for Dodik's forced appearance. Even if the order for forced appearance were issued, stronger police forces would not be deployed to the field.

The Prosecutor's Office of BiH, Istraga has learned, would in that case send only a few police officers to the field who would, at one of the addresses they are directed to, "establish that Milorad Dodik is unavailable." This would create the conditions for state prosecutors to issue a central search warrant for Dodik.

What is a central search warrant?

A central search warrant is issued if the wanted person is in BiH but their address is unknown.

It is a type of warrant entered into the system of all police units in BiH, including the Border Police of BiH. This means that, in effect, an order has been issued for the forced appearance of the wanted person before the state body that issued the search warrant.

By issuing a central search warrant, the Prosecutor's Office of BiH effectively avoids conducting a police operation directed against Milorad Dodik.

The Prosecutor's Office of BiH, therefore, will not send police forces to the Palace of the Republika Srpska President or Milorad Dodik's home, but will only "task" police officers to apprehend Milorad Dodik when they see him.

Meanwhile, Republika Srpska President Milorad Dodik is in a panic. According to information from Istraga, Dodik did not sleep at his home in Bakinci near Banja Luka on Monday evening.

Namely, he spent the night in the building of the Government of Republika Srpska, and sent an empty official car towards his home as a decoy.

Regardless of his panic, the Prosecutor's Office of BiH is not considering the possibility of issuing an order to any police to break into, for example, Dodik's office in the Palace of the Republika Srpska President or the National Assembly of Republika Srpska, where the Republika Srpska President is scheduled to attend a session tomorrow at which the Draft of the new Constitution of Republika Srpska will be discussed.

At the same time, the authorities of Republika Srpska are trying to urgently adopt a law under which they will form a Special Prosecutor's Office of Republika Srpska that will prosecute all those who attack the "constitutional order of Republika Srpska."

The Special Prosecutor would be appointed by the ruling majority in the National Assembly of Republika Srpska and would have the authority to issue an order for the arrest of all those who "undermine the constitutional order of Republika Srpska."



"All prosecutor's offices and all state bodies in Republika Srpska are obliged to provide special prosecutors or persons acting on their authorization with all necessary assistance and support, including providing space and equipment, and enabling the use of technical means at their disposal, upon their request.

All state bodies of Republika Srpska are obliged, without delay, to execute requests and orders given by the Special Prosecutor's Office in accordance with the Criminal Procedure Code of Republika Srpska," it is stated in the proposed law, which could come into force by the end of this week, provided that the National Assembly of Republika Srpska adopts it tomorrow.