Bosnia court detains Bosniak-Croat President Zivko Budimir Published duration 28 April 2013

image copyright Reuters image caption Zivko Budimir was arrested along with at least 17 others on Friday

A Bosnian court has ordered the president of the autonomous Bosniak-Croat Federation to be detained for a month on corruption charges.

Zivko Budimir was arrested on Friday along with at least 17 others.

On Sunday, prosecutors said Mr Budimir and four other officials had taken bribes to arrange pardons for convicts. They demanded his detention in case he tried to flee the country.

Lawyers for the accused said they would appeal against the ruling.

The court said it was detaining Mr Budimir and his co-accused aide, Petar Barisic, because of the danger of flight.

Mr Budimir's Party of Justice and Trust has accused state prosecutors of "meddling in politics".

It has described his arrest as a "show of strength put on for the sake of the public".

The Bosniak-Croat Federation, together with the Republika Srpska, make up Bosnia-Herzegovina. Each has its own president, government, parliament, police and other bodies.

Bosnia was split into two autonomous regions - joined by a relatively weak central government - under a US-brokered peace deal that ended the 1992-95 war.