SERBIA: VICE CONSUL ARRESTED IN KOVACEVIC CASE; KOVACEVIC

UNCLAS BELGRADE 000987

DEPT FOR EUR/SCE (D. SCHROEDER, K. KOKTA),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: VICE CONSUL ARRESTED IN KOVACEVIC CASE; KOVACEVIC
TESTIFIES

REF: BELGRADE 770 AND PREVIOUS

Summary
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1. (SBU) Serbian authorities arrested former Vice Consul Igor
Milosevic on September 2 and are investigating him for misuse of
authority for issuing a travel document to former University of
Binghamton basketball player Miladin Kovacevic, who is accused in
New York of first-degree assault and first-degree gang assault for
allegedly beating a fellow university student. In his September 18
testimony during the hearing on the charges against Milosevic,
Kovacevic implicated the former Serbian Consul General in the case;
in comments to the press he alleged mistreatment in the U.S. End
Summary.

Vice Consul Detained
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2. (SBU) Serbian authorities detained former Vice Consul Igor
Milosevic on September 2 in relation to their investigation of his
role in the flight of Miladin Kovacevic from justice in New York
(reftel). Milosevic faces charges of misuse of authority, as he was
aware that Kovacevic had surrendered his passport to a Broome
County, New York, court. Serbian government sources told us on
September 6 that Milosevic may have also falsified the data on
Kovacevic's temporary travel document in order to help him avoid
detection when fleeing the United States.

Kovacevic Testifies
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3. (U) Serbian authorities called on Kovacevic and his parents to
testify during a September 18 hearing on the charges against
Milosevic. In informal comments to the press in the courthouse
hallway, Kovacevic reportedly expressed his desire for the affair to
be over. Local daily Vecernje Novosti quoted Kovacevic as saying
"I'm not a fundamentalist or a member of Al Qaeda who is trying to
spread ideology, I'm just a regular guy who wants to go back to my
normal life." Politika reports that Kovacevic told reporters that he
endured "torture" in the U.S. jail and was threatened with death,
and claimed that Steinhauer was kept in a coma "artificially."


4. (U) During his testimony Kovacevic reportedly said that he was
unable to remember many details due to medication he was taking at
the time of his June 9 release from prison, but said he recalled
being in the Serbian Consulate in New York and was certain that
Milosevic had consulted with Consul General Slobodan Nenadovic
before issuing the temporary travel document.

Reactions to "Absurd Request" to Cancel Support for Serbian
Basketball
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5. (U) On September 15, press carried statements from Serbian
pharmaceutical company Hemofarm director Miodrag Babic announcing
the company was pulling its support for the Basketball Federation of
Serbia (KSS) while Kovacevic plays basketball in Serbia. In his
statement, Babic said that Hemofarm was complying with an "absurd
request" from Senator Clinton. Other Hemofarm officials and
representatives from KSS criticized the request, saying it created a
political relationship between the USG and Serbian basketball.
Tabloid papers and daily Politika criticized Babic for responding to
the request, citing three other Serbian sponsors of KSS that did not
react immediately. Headlines included "Hillary Stops Serbian
Basketball" "Hillary's Hook Shot," and "Babic Listens to Serbia."

Comment
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6. (SBU) The Milosevic trial has placed Kovacevic back in the
Serbian public spotlight and given him the opportunity to repeat his
lies to the press. Though the nationalist Serbian media has
gleefully seized on Kovacevic's statements to again try to portray
him as a victim of American justice, for the most part,
sensationalism of the case has diminished. End Comment.

BRUSH