BELGRADE, Feb 17 (Hina) - A panel of judges with Belgrade's special court against organised crime decided on Tuesday to separate proceedings against the accused for the assassination of Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic from those
against the rest of the so-called Zemun clan, who are charged with a spate of other grave crimes.
BELGRADE, Feb 17 (Hina) - A panel of judges with Belgrade's special
court against organised crime decided on Tuesday to separate
proceedings against the accused for the assassination of Serbian Prime
Minister Zoran Djindjic from those against the rest of the so-called
Zemun clan, who are charged with a spate of other grave crimes.#L#
Accused for the 12 March 2003 Dindjic slaying are Milorad Lukovic
Legija, former commander of the Serbian interior ministry's special
operations units, the so-called Red Berets, brothers Aleksandar and
Milos Simovic, Ninoslav Konstantinovic, Vladimir Milisavljevic Budala,
Dejan Milenkovic Bagzi, Sretko Kalinic, Milan Jurisic, Dusan
Krsmanovic, Sasa Pejakovic, Branislav Bezarevic, and Zeljko Tojaga.
Of the 12 aforementioned four are at large and will be tried in
absence.
Explaining the separation of proceedings, the president of the panel
of judges, Marko Kljajevic, said the decision had been made due to
functionality, the importance of the case and the public's interest in
shedding light on the Djindjic assassination as soon as possible.
Even before the indictment was filed against 36 people, proceedings
were separated against Borislav Mikelic, former leader of rebel Serbs'
parastate in Croatia, Aleksandar Tomic, former chief of security in
the Yugoslav Army, Rade Bulatovic, adviser to former Yugoslav
President Vojislav Kostunica, and journalist Gradisa Katic. They are
suspected of participation in a conspiracy to assassinate Djindjic.
(Hina) ha sb