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
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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
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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?
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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
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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
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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.


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MUNTER