BELGRADE, Oct 19 (Hina) - Two men accused of the slaying of Zeljko Raznatovic aka Arkan were released from custody on Saturday because the county court in Belgrade did not pass a new sentence against them within the deadline
prescribed by law, Serbia's Supreme Court told Serbian Radio and Television on Sunday.
BELGRADE, Oct 19 (Hina) - Two men accused of the slaying of Zeljko
Raznatovic aka Arkan were released from custody on Saturday because
the county court in Belgrade did not pass a new sentence against
them within the deadline prescribed by law, Serbia's Supreme Court
told Serbian Radio and Television on Sunday. #L#
The Supreme Court on 24 September 2002 quashed a Belgrade County
Court ruling of 26 October 2001 which sentenced ex-police officer
Dobroslav Gavric to 20, and Milan Djuricic and Dragan Nikolic to 15
years in jail. Nikolic was recently arrested in Austria and is
awaiting extradition to Serbia-Montenegro.
Gavric and Djuricic were released from custody yesterday based on a
legal provision stipulating that when the Supreme Court quashes a
ruling and orders a retrial, the court of first instance has to pass
a new sentence within one year, or the accused must be provisionally
released pending retrial.
Arkan was assassinated at Belgrade's Intercontinental hotel on 15
January 2000. He had been under investigation of the Hague war
crimes tribunal for the former Yugoslavia because his Tigers
paramilitary units had fought during the wars in Croatia and
Bosnia-Herzegovina.
(hina) ha