Prosecutor: Ulemek spoke out in Ćuruvija case

BELGRADE Special Prosecutor for Organized Crime Miljko Radisavljevic says that Milorad Ulemek was the person "started to speak out about the murder (Slavko) Curuvija." The testimony played a key role when it comes to the arrests made in Belgrade on Tuesday, he noted. Prosecutor: Ulemek spoke out in Curuvija case Radisavljevic addressed a press conference in the Serbian government this afternoon to confirm that former members of the former Department of State Security (DB) Ratko Romic and Milan Radonjic had been detained on suspicion of involvement in the 1999 murder of the publisher and journalist. They are suspected of acting in agreement with the former head of the DB, Rade Markovic and member of the special service for security Miroslav Kurak to take the life of Curuvija, said Radisavljevic. To the new details have been discovered with the help of a witness who has decided to speak out, said Radisavljevic, and added: "It is Milorad Ulemek. He decided to talk about the murder. I would like to stress that this testimony was unconditional... He received no benefits, and talked very extensively about the case." The prosecutor also noted that he could not comment more on witness testimonies "because of the presumption of innocence, for which our country has often been sued before the court in Strasbourg." Ulemek, known also by his nickname "Legija", is currently serving a 40-year-sentence for his role in the conspiracy to assassinate Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic. Radisavljevic thanked all security services involved in the investigation, and added that he expected it to be completed within a month, so that an indictment can be raised. As for the motive of the killers - the prosecutor said it was "politics," as in the "Stambolic," "Budva," and "Ibar" cases. This is according to currently available information, Radisavljevic said, in response to a reporter's question. "I do not rule out that in the course of the investigation we will arrive at other motives, perhaps personal. For now, the motive is politics," the prosecutor said. "The person who gave the order directly is Radomir Markovic," he added, and noted that the end of the investigation would have to be awaited before learning "whether we will get to a higher level." First Deputy PM Aleksandar Vucic also addressed the news conference to say that there were two more witnesses beside Ulemek. He stressed that "one DB member said that Ulemek mentioned something at some point, but that he would not speak about it - but the opposite happened." President of the Commission for Investigating Murders of Journalists Veran Matic said that this was a great day for freedom of journalism in Serbia, because without punishing those who attacked journalists there would be no such freedom. Matic said that the Commission will continue its work in order to discover who killed Milan Pantic and Dada Vujasinovic, as well who is responsible for the deaths of RTS workers, and noted this was the Commission's mandate mandate. Miljko Radisavljevic addresses the news conference on Tuesday (Tanjug) B92

Prosecutor: Ulemek spoke out in Ćuruvija case

Radisavljević addressed a press conference in the Serbian government this afternoon to confirm that former members of the former Department of State Security (DB) Ratko Romić and Milan Radonjić had been detained on suspicion of involvement in the 1999 murder of the publisher and journalist.

They are suspected of acting in agreement with the former head of the DB, Rade Marković and member of the special service for security Miroslav Kurak to take the life of Ćuruvija, said Radisavljević.

To the new details have been discovered with the help of a witness who has decided to speak out, said Radisavljević, and added:

"It is Milorad Ulemek. He decided to talk about the murder. I would like to stress that this testimony was unconditional... He received no benefits, and talked very extensively about the case."

The prosecutor also noted that he could not comment more on witness testimonies "because of the presumption of innocence, for which our country has often been sued before the court in Strasbourg."

Ulemek, known also by his nickname "Legija", is currently serving a 40-year-sentence for his role in the conspiracy to assassinate Prime Minister Zoran Đinđić.

Radisavljević thanked all security services involved in the investigation, and added that he expected it to be completed within a month, so that an indictment can be raised.

As for the motive of the killers - the prosecutor said it was "politics," as in the "Stambolić," "Budva," and "Ibar" cases. This is according to currently available information, Radisavljević said, in response to a reporter's question.

"I do not rule out that in the course of the investigation we will arrive at other motives, perhaps personal. For now, the motive is politics," the prosecutor said.

"The person who gave the order directly is Radomir Marković," he added, and noted that the end of the investigation would have to be awaited before learning "whether we will get to a higher level."

First Deputy PM Aleksandar Vučić also addressed the news conference to say that there were two more witnesses beside Ulemek. He stressed that "one DB member said that Ulemek mentioned something at some point, but that he would not speak about it - but the opposite happened."

President of the Commission for Investigating Murders of Journalists Veran Matić said that this was a great day for freedom of journalism in Serbia, because without punishing those who attacked journalists there would be no such freedom.

Matić said that the Commission will continue its work in order to discover who killed Milan Pantić and Dada Vujasinović, as well who is responsible for the deaths of RTS workers, and noted this was the Commission's mandate mandate.