Tadić: U.S.-Serbia relations free of "Kovačević burden"
President Boris Tadić says that negotiations were the most sensible way to free Belgrade-Washington from the "burden of the Miladin Kovačević case."
Thursday, 02.04.2009.
09:23
President Boris Tadic says that negotiations were the most sensible way to free Belgrade-Washington from the "burden of the Miladin Kovacevic case." The president said that the case had threatened to remain an insurmountable barrier in relations with the U.S. that would bring Serbia major foreign political and financial repercussions. The Serbian courts were officially given the go-ahead from the U.S. authorities to prosecute Kovacevic on Wednesday. Tadic: U.S.-Serbia relations free of "Kovacevic burden" This should allow the public a full insight into whether the government really did pay the family of the victim, Bryan Steinhauer, USD 900,000 in compensation. Responsibility for pressing criminal charges was officially transferred to the Serbian prosecution yesterday, while the U.S. prosecution says that it will transfer all available evidence in the case to their Serbian counterparts. It has been announced that the government will remove the “state secret” tag from the Miladin Kovacevic case at today’s cabinet meeting. Republic Public Prosecutor Slobodan Radovanovic told B92 that the Americans’ decision to hand the case over to Serbia was an acknowledgement of the domestic judiciary, though neither he nor any other official could say whether compensation had been paid out. According to the Broome County state prosecutor, the money was transferred on March 12. In its official statement, the Serbian government would only reveal that the New York prosecution’s decision had successfully solved a problem that had seriously frayed relations between Serbia and the U.S. Meanwhile, Kovacevic’s own legal representative Borivoje Borovic has welcomed the decision to transfer the case to the Serbian judiciary. Borovic said that his client had been unlawfully made to spend a month in custody as, he claimed, the domestic prosecution has not thus far been in possession of any proof against him. “The government, especially the Justice Ministry, clearly did a good bit of negotiating. This has, in a way, cleared up any confusion that appeared between Serbian and American diplomacy,” he told B92. “This brings no great benefit to Miladin Kovacevic, other than that he’ll receive a fair and just trial before the Serbian judicial authorities,” the lawyer said. Kovacevic is accused of inflicting grievous bodily harm on Steinhauer, incitement to commit abuse of office and forge travel documents. The domestic courts have also brought charges against the former consul and vice-consul in New York, Slobodan Nenadovic and Igor Milosevic, who have been accused of aiding and abetting Kovacevic. Boris Tadic (FoNet, archive)
Tadić: U.S.-Serbia relations free of "Kovačević burden"
This should allow the public a full insight into whether the government really did pay the family of the victim, Bryan Steinhauer, USD 900,000 in compensation.Responsibility for pressing criminal charges was officially transferred to the Serbian prosecution yesterday, while the U.S. prosecution says that it will transfer all available evidence in the case to their Serbian counterparts.
It has been announced that the government will remove the “state secret” tag from the Miladin Kovačević case at today’s cabinet meeting.
Republic Public Prosecutor Slobodan Radovanović told B92 that the Americans’ decision to hand the case over to Serbia was an acknowledgement of the domestic judiciary, though neither he nor any other official could say whether compensation had been paid out.
According to the Broome County state prosecutor, the money was transferred on March 12.
In its official statement, the Serbian government would only reveal that the New York prosecution’s decision had successfully solved a problem that had seriously frayed relations between Serbia and the U.S.
Meanwhile, Kovačević’s own legal representative Borivoje Borović has welcomed the decision to transfer the case to the Serbian judiciary.
Borović said that his client had been unlawfully made to spend a month in custody as, he claimed, the domestic prosecution has not thus far been in possession of any proof against him.
“The government, especially the Justice Ministry, clearly did a good bit of negotiating. This has, in a way, cleared up any confusion that appeared between Serbian and American diplomacy,” he told B92.
“This brings no great benefit to Miladin Kovačević, other than that he’ll receive a fair and just trial before the Serbian judicial authorities,” the lawyer said.
Kovačević is accused of inflicting grievous bodily harm on Steinhauer, incitement to commit abuse of office and forge travel documents.
The domestic courts have also brought charges against the former consul and vice-consul in New York, Slobodan Nenadović and Igor Milošević, who have been accused of aiding and abetting Kovačević.
Komentari 10
Pogledaj komentare