BELGRADE, April 2. /TASS/. Interpol's central apparatus has rejected a request by the organization's Sarajevo office to put Republika Srpska (one of Bosnia and Herzegovina's entities) President Milorad Dodik and National Assembly Speaker Nenad Stevandic on the international wanted list, according to Dodik’s statement.
"[Serbian] President Aleksandar Vucic <...> called me to inform me that he had received a notification from the Interpol leadership that Serbia's appeal was granted and that Interpol rejected the request of the Bosnia and Herzegovina court to issue a red notice against Stevandic and me," Dodik wrote on his X page.
The Republika Srpska president thanked Vucic for "clear and principled communication with Interpol" and also thanked Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and "the presidents of all other states" who appealed Sarajevo's request due to the political nature of the trial against the Republika Srpska leadership.
A Bosnia and Herzegovina court on February 26 sentenced Dodik to a year in prison and a six-year ban on political activity for ignoring the decisions of High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina Christian Schmidt. This is a first-instance verdict that can be appealed. On March 12, the Bosnia and Herzegovina Prosecutor's Office requested the assistance of the security services in the arrest of Dodik, Republika Srpska Prime Minister Radovan Viskovic and Stevandic. Republika Srpska Interior Minister Sinisa Karan ruled out the possibility of their detention. On March 27, the Interpol office in Sarajevo launched an international search for Dodik and Stevandic. Serbian Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Ivica Dacic later said that the initiative had no legal force and violated the organization's statute. According to media reports, Hungary also filed an appeal against the arrest warrant for Dodik.
The day before, after meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, Dodik emphasized that Moscow was of exceptional importance for Banja Luka and always remained objective.