ZAGREB, Sept 26 (Hina) - Croatian authorities confirmed on Friday that the person arrested by Macedonian police was Mile Novakovic, who has been sentenced in Croatia to 20 years' imprisonment for war crimes, and said they would
request his extradition.
ZAGREB, Sept 26 (Hina) - Croatian authorities confirmed on Friday
that the person arrested by Macedonian police was Mile Novakovic,
who has been sentenced in Croatia to 20 years' imprisonment for war
crimes, and said they would request his extradition. #L#
The Interpol office in Macedonia informed the Croatian Ministry of
Justice and the Office of the Public Prosecutor on Friday that
Novakovic, aged 53, had been arrested on the border with Serbia on
Thursday.
Earlier on Friday, Macedonian police said they had apprehended a
foreign national convicted of war crimes, identifying him only by
his initials, M.N. According to the same source, an order has been
issued in the town of Kumanovo to place him in custody for 30 days
pending extradition.
"Croatia will request within this deadline that Novakovic be
extradited," Zdravko Stojanovic, assistant justice minister for
international legal assistance, told Hina. "A request for
extradition is being prepared," he added.
The Office of the Public Prosecutor has said in a statement that
Novakovic was arrested on the basis of an arrest warrant issued by
the Interpol office in Zagreb following an order by the Sibenik
County Court.
Belgrade-based B92 radio reported on Friday morning that Novakovic
was arrested when he went as a member of a state delegation to lay
wreaths at the monument to Serb war veterans at Zejtinlik.
Novakovic was born near Slunj in Croatia on January 15, 1950. He
holds the rank of lieutenant colonel in the armed forces of Serbia-
Montenegro and leads the Serbian Association of Disabled War
Veterans.
As a former deputy commander of Serb rebel forces in Croatia, he was
sentenced to a prison term in absentia in January 1995 for war
crimes against the civilian population, use of illegal weapons and
destruction of churches and historical monuments. Another three
rebel Serb leaders -- Goran Hadzic, Djordje Bjegovic and Kosta
Novakovic -- were convicted on the same charges together with him.
(hina) vm