SERBIA ARRESTS FUGITIVE MILADIN KOVACEVIC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BELGRADE 001116 DEPT FOR EUR/SCE (P. PETERSON),CA/OCS/ACS (O. KINDER),L/LEI (P. GUTHERIE),L/DL (C. BROWN),L/CA (G. BRANCATO),CA/OCS/PRI (E. BETANCOURT) SARAJEVO FOR LEGATT SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: CJAN PREL PGOV ODIP EAID SR SUBJECT: SERBIA ARRESTS FUGITIVE MILADIN KOVACEVIC REF: BELGRADE 987 Summary -------------- ¶1. (SBU) Serbian police detained fugitive Miladin Kovacevic on October 28 in connection with his alleged assault of a U.S. citizen in May and his subsequent flight from justice using a travel document obtained from the Serbian consulate in New York under suspicious circumstances. Kovacevic will appear before a Belgrade judge today for a bond hearing. Press interest in the detention is high; post has issued a short statement welcoming the detention. End Summary. Detained, Transferred to Belgrade -------------- ¶2. (SBU) On the morning of October 28, Serbian Ministry of Interior officials detained Miladin Kovacevic at his home in the small northwestern town of Kula, Serbia. State Secretary of the Ministry of Justice Slobodan Homen called post's Resident Legal Advisor at 11:00 on October 28 to inform the USG of the detention, news of which had already appeared in the press. Homen said that Kovacevic was transferred immediately to Belgrade where the Second Municipal Court would hold a hearing the same day to determine whether he would be held in pre-trial detention or released on bail. As of yet, neither the Ministry of Justice nor the Ministry of Interior has issued an official statement on the case. Warrant Based in Part on U.S. Information -------------- ¶3. (SBU) The police acted based on an arrest warrant issued by the Ministry of Justice. Our contacts at the MOJ have informed us that the warrant covered alleged crimes in both the United States and Serbia. Kovacevic is charged in the United States with second degree assault for the May 4 assault of Amcit Bryan Steinhauer in Binghamton, New York; the relevant charge in Serbia would be under Article 121 of the Serbian Criminal Code, Serious Bodily Harm. The Serbian authorities are also pursuing charges against Kovacevic for aiding and abetting the misuse of authority and use of a false travel document, in connection with the temporary travel document issued to him by Serbian Vice Consul Igor Milosevic (reftel). ¶4. (SBU) In response to the Serbian government's request for information on the Kovacevic case, post provided uncertified copies of documents from the U.S. prosecutor on October 24 under cover of diplomatic note No. 331. The note specified that the copies were provided for investigative purposes only. Serbian Consul Also Detained? -------------- ¶5. (U) There are press reports that Serbian authorities also detained former Consul Slobodan Nenadovic on October 28 as part of the investigation into whether he misused his authority in relation to the Kovacevic case. Embassy Press Release -------------- ¶6. (U) In response to the numerous press inquiries that immediately followed Kovacevic's detention, post has issued the following press release: "The U.S. Embassy welcomes the Serbian Government's detention of Miladin Kovacevic and Slobodan Nenadovic. The Embassy is cooperating with Serbia's request to investigate this case." If pressed for further details we plan to respond that "It would be inappropriate for us to comment further on an ongoing criminal investigation." Comment -------------- ¶7. (SBU) Kovacevic's detention is a positive development that resulted from close cooperation with both the New York Broome County prosecutor's office and the Serbian Ministry of Justice. Post will continue to work closely with all stakeholders on next steps. End Comment. BELGRADE 00001116 002 OF 002 MUNTER