Serbian charges against a Bosnian citizen Osman Osmanovic, who was arrested by Serbian authorities last week, are very disputable because no man can be apprehended or arrested on the basis of criminal charges alone, Bosnia's tripartite Presidency Chairman Zeljko Komsic said on Monday.

“We have no information that Serbia's Prosecution or Court issued any kind of indictment or arrest warrant against Osmanovic, a former member of the Croat Defence Council (HVO) during the Bosnian war of 1992-1995,” Komsic's Office said in their statement.

They argue that nowhere in the world can criminal charges be the legal basis for someone's arrest or detention.

“I consider this to be an arbitrary act of repressive authorities of the Republic of Serbia. Immediately upon my return from a working visit to the US, I will initiate all necessary steps with the competent institutions of the Republic of Serbia in order to resolve these and similar treatments of our citizens. All the more so because our citizens are arrested and apprehended without indictments or published evidence, while fugitives from the Bosnian judiciary like Novak Djukic, who have public indictments and final verdicts against them, are protected by Serbian authorities,” Komsic said.

He added that such asymmetry in the treatment of indicted and suspected persons aids attempts to equalize criminals to victims.

Serbia's War Crimes Prosecutor's Office issued an order to investigate Osman Osmanovic on suspicion of committing war crimes against Serb civilians and prisoners of war in Gornji Rahic in the Brcko area, northern Bosnia, in the summer of 1992, the Deputy War Crimes Prosecutor Vasilije Seratlic said Monday.

He added that the Higher Court in Belgrade, the War Crimes Chamber, issued a decision to detain Osmanovicfor up to 30 days.

Osmanovic is a former member of the Croatian Defence Council (HVO) and he was arrested on the border with Serbia after criminal charges were filed against him on suspicion of committing a war crime.