Trial of DB operatives continues

The trial of former State Security (DB) members for the illegal arrest and extortion of a former DB operative has resumed at the Belgrade Second District Court. The former chief of the Belgrade State Security Center, Milan Radonjic, and three State Security members stand accused of crimes against Vladimir Nikolic. Trial of DB operatives continues Testifying today was the former head of the Belgrade center, Radovan Bozovic, who said that he had given an audiotape to Nikolic on Oct. 4, 1999, on Radonjic’s orders, the essence of which was that the Serbian Renewal Movement (SPO) was supporting Nikolic, “as an SPO man in the DB’s ranks.” “Nikolic told me after he’d heard the tape that that support would destroy and murder him because he was no one’s man,” said Bozovic. Bozovic added that after discussions with Nikolic he had told accused Goran Zivaljevic and Misa Milicevic, who is due to testify at the trial, that “it’s all just self-promotion by the SPO” and that he was convinced that Nikolic was not a member of that party as that would be devastating for the DB. “I didn’t believe that Nikolic could be an SPO man because his father was a long-standing employee of the advisory service and his mother an education secretary, today the equivalent of a minister, and later deputy speaker of the Serbian parliament. How could a man from that family be on the side of the SPO,” said Bozovic. He added that Zivaljevic and Milicevic had told him that the tape could not be disputed as it was a first-hand source. Bozovic said that he had played the tape to Nikolic, whom the DB was keeping in custody in a villa in Banjica, at an SPO press conference. Radonjic objected to this, saying that that was a lie, and that Nikolic had in fact been played a taped telephone conversation between Vuk Draskovic and Ognjen Pribicevic from Oct. 1, 1999, recorded when Pribicevic was staying in Washington. Bozovic added that Radonjic’s claims were entirely correct, and co-accused Zivaljevic also confirmed that as he had heard what was on the tape given to Nikolic, since he and Milicevic had watched and listened to the conversation between Bozovic and Nikolic on a monitor. Saying that it had been important to him that the tape had begun with Draskovic’s words “the second thing”, Nikolic added that he had wondered what the first thing was, and later he discovered that the staged traffic accident on the Ibarska highway had occurred the day before, in which four SPO members had been killed, and Draskovic injured. Radonjic responded that he did not believe it had been necessary to inform Nikolic, who was in custody, about the Ibarska highway incident, but that the tape of Draskovic from Oct. 1 was played to Nikolic on Oct. 4. The trial continues on April 13. Alongside Radonjic and Zivaljevic in the dock are former DB members Veselin Lecic and Stevan Basta. Nikolic, who was a chief DB analyst during mid-1999, was arrested on Oct. 1, 1999 and given a prison sentence, but was released from prison after the Oct. 5, 2000 changes and the charges against him were dropped. The Ibarska highway murders took place two days after his arrest, on Oct. 3, 1999. Radonjic was accused of complicity in that murder and was freed by the Supreme Court, though Judge Dragomir Milojevic said that there were “indications that Radonjic knew of the planned murder, but there was no conclusive proof.” Then DB Chief Radomir Markovic and Special Operations Unit Commander Milorad Ulemek were sentenced to 40 years in prison for the four murders on the Ibarska highway.

Trial of DB operatives continues

Testifying today was the former head of the Belgrade center, Radovan Božović, who said that he had given an audiotape to Nikolić on Oct. 4, 1999, on Radonjić’s orders, the essence of which was that the Serbian Renewal Movement (SPO) was supporting Nikolić, “as an SPO man in the DB’s ranks.”

“Nikolić told me after he’d heard the tape that that support would destroy and murder him because he was no one’s man,” said Božović.

Božović added that after discussions with Nikolić he had told accused Goran Živaljević and Miša Milićević, who is due to testify at the trial, that “it’s all just self-promotion by the SPO” and that he was convinced that Nikolić was not a member of that party as that would be devastating for the DB.

“I didn’t believe that Nikolić could be an SPO man because his father was a long-standing employee of the advisory service and his mother an education secretary, today the equivalent of a minister, and later deputy speaker of the Serbian parliament. How could a man from that family be on the side of the SPO,” said Božović.

He added that Živaljević and Milićević had told him that the tape could not be disputed as it was a first-hand source.

Božović said that he had played the tape to Nikolić, whom the DB was keeping in custody in a villa in Banjica, at an SPO press conference.

Radonjić objected to this, saying that that was a lie, and that Nikolić had in fact been played a taped telephone conversation between Vuk Drašković and Ognjen Pribićević from Oct. 1, 1999, recorded when Pribićević was staying in Washington.

Božović added that Radonjić’s claims were entirely correct, and co-accused Živaljević also confirmed that as he had heard what was on the tape given to Nikolić, since he and Milićević had watched and listened to the conversation between Božović and Nikolić on a monitor.

Saying that it had been important to him that the tape had begun with Drašković’s words “the second thing”, Nikolić added that he had wondered what the first thing was, and later he discovered that the staged traffic accident on the Ibarska highway had occurred the day before, in which four SPO members had been killed, and Drašković injured.

Radonjić responded that he did not believe it had been necessary to inform Nikolić, who was in custody, about the Ibarska highway incident, but that the tape of Drašković from Oct. 1 was played to Nikolić on Oct. 4.

The trial continues on April 13.

Alongside Radonjić and Živaljević in the dock are former DB members Veselin Lečić and Stevan Basta.

Nikolić, who was a chief DB analyst during mid-1999, was arrested on Oct. 1, 1999 and given a prison sentence, but was released from prison after the Oct. 5, 2000 changes and the charges against him were dropped.

The Ibarska highway murders took place two days after his arrest, on Oct. 3, 1999.

Radonjić was accused of complicity in that murder and was freed by the Supreme Court, though Judge Dragomir Milojević said that there were “indications that Radonjić knew of the planned murder, but there was no conclusive proof.”

Then DB Chief Radomir Marković and Special Operations Unit Commander Milorad Ulemek were sentenced to 40 years in prison for the four murders on the Ibarska highway.