U.N. WANTS TO PREVENT APARTMENT EVICTIONS IN MOSTAR

SARAJEVO, 7 Jan (Hina) - The body of 71-year-old Rukija Bejtovic, who went missing on 24 December, was found in an abandoned building in west Mostar on Monday afternoon, U.N. spokesman Alexander Ivanko told a press conference in Sarajevo on Tuesday. The woman was disabled and could move only in a wheelchair, Ivanko said, adding that the body had been transported to a hospital in Split, Croatia, where an autopsy would be performed in the presence of international police. Bejtovic lived alone in her west Mostar flat from where she was thrown out by unidentified persons who moved in by force. A UN investigative team carried out an investigation into the incident. The Croatian Defence Council (HVO) military police apprehended the perpetrator, held him in prison for 72 hours and then handed him over to civil police which let the perpetrator walk free without bringing any charges against him. The U.N. mission was disappointed with the fact that the perpetrator had been released, Ivanko said, adding that the International Police Task Force would carry out its own investigation into the case and demand from local authorities to take concrete actions against those who expel other people from their flats, Ivanko said. (hina) rm mm 071441 MET jan 97