BELGRADE ANNOUNCES HANDOVER OF MILOSEVIC'S SECURITY SERVICE HEADS

BELGRADE, April 6 (Hina) - A former head of the State Security Service of Serbia (SDB), Jovica Stanisic, and the first commander of the special unit of that service, Franko Simatovic, currently kept in custody, will be extradited if the Hague-based UN tribunal issues indictments against them, the foreign minister of Serbia and Montenegro said on Saturday evening. #L# Stanisic and Simatovic, who were top officials of the secret service during the Slobodan Milosevic regime, are now in custody within an investigation into the assassination of Serbian Premier Zoran Djindjic. "They are now being treated in a process in relation to the organised crime and the slaying of Premier Djindjic. In case of the issuance of an (ICTY) indictment against them, and after amending the law on cooperation with the Hague-based Tribunal we shall certainly hand them over," Minister Goran Svilanovic was quoted by the B92 Television as saying. Simatovic and Stanisic are cited in the ICTY's indictment against Slobodan Milosevic, as one of 15 accomplices in their joint criminal endeavour, but at that time they were still under an investigation which the ICTY Prosecution conducted. It is still unknown whether they will be indicted. The Council of Ministers of Serbia-Montenegro last Friday proposed to the assembly of the new union to annul Article 39 of the law on cooperation with the tribunal which prevented the processing of persons against whom indictments were issued after the adoption of the said law. (hina) ms