Republika Srpska President Milorad Dodik said on Monday, March 10, that he had not received a summons from the Prosecutor's Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina, after stating late last week that he had been summoned to testify as a "suspect in the overthrow of the constitutional order."
The Prosecutor's Office of BiH announced on March 6 that they have been conducting an investigation since December last year due to the existence of grounds for suspicion that the criminal offense of "attack on the constitutional order" was committed.
The Prosecutor's Office has not announced what the investigation specifically relates to or who the suspects are for the crime for which the Criminal Code of BiH provides for a five-year prison sentence, as well as the possibility of a ban on performing duties.
Last week, Dodik stated in a post on social media that the BiH Prosecutor's Office had invited him to come on Friday, March 7, to give a statement "as a suspect in the overthrow of the constitutional order." At that time, he stated that he would not respond to the invitation.
He subsequently stated in a media statement that he had been summoned again to give evidence for Monday, March 10th.
The Prosecutor's Office of BiH has not commented on Dodik's allegations that he was summoned for questioning.
The Criminal Procedure Code of BiH provides for the possibility of issuing an order for forcible bringing to give a statement, in the event that a person summoned to judicial institutions refuses to do so.
In a social media post on Monday, Dodik again accused the BiH Prosecutor's Office of acting as an "opponent of RS." He also stated that the Prosecutor's Office "has no jurisdiction" in that entity, referring to an unconstitutional law by which the RS Assembly attempted to ban the work of four judicial and investigative institutions of BiH.
On February 27, the RS Assembly adopted an unconstitutional law that attempted to ban the work of the Court and Prosecutor's Office of BiH, the State Investigation and Protection Agency (SIPA), and the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council in the territory of that entity.
In this intention, the RS authorities were prevented by the Constitutional Court of BiH, which on March 7 issued a temporary measure and stopped the implementation of the laws passed by the RS Assembly.
The unilateral termination of the jurisdiction of the state of BiH over a part of its territory is not in accordance with the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the moves by the RS authorities in this direction have been condemned by the international community.
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