Milosevic's widow Mira Markovic sentenced to year in jail

Milosevic's widow Mira Markovic sentenced to year in jail

Markovic was tried in absentia as she is inaccessible to Serbia's judicial authorities. An international warrant was issued for her arrest in 2005.

Except for the widow of former Serbian and Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic, verdicts have also been passed against Zivka "Cica" Knezevic, a former secretary of the Serbian government, and then Dipos (Diplomatic Housing Enterprise) Director Milos Loncar.

Markovic stood accused of the criminal act of abuse of office by incitement, because, according to the indictment, as the president of the JUL party directorate, she incited some members of the Serbian government's commission for allocation of apartments to give an apartment to her grandson's nanny Ilona Pesic, although Pesic did not fulfill the legally envisaged conditions.

The trial was separated at the beginning of this year from the process that ended on January 11 with the acquittal of former official Branislav Ivkovic and former director of the Federal Customs Administration Mihalj Kertes, while Knezevic was acquitted of some charges, but is facing trial on others, including in the case involving Markovic.

In addition to the two, Loncar was also indicted, while the proceedings were separated for Danilo Pantovic, who is currently the ambassador of Serbia to Cuba.

As for Markovic, the representatives of the General Prosecutor of the Russian Federation in 2010 announced that she enjoyed the status of a political refugee in that country and cannot be arrested under the Serbian Interpol notice, which was issued in 2005 and remains in force.

The former State Security Chief Jovica Stanisic is also featured in this indictment, but the court ruled to terminate the proceedings against him because of the war crimes retrial he is facing in The Hague.