VZCZCXYZ0017
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHBW #0987 2631523
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 191523Z SEP 08
FM AMEMBASSY BELGRADE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0450
INFO RUEHVJ/AMEMBASSY SARAJEVO 0025

UNCLAS BELGRADE 000987 
 
DEPT FOR EUR/SCE (D. SCHROEDER, K. KOKTA), CA/OCS/ACS (O. KINDER), 
L/LEI (P. GUTHERIE), L/DL (C. BROWN), L/CA (G. BRANCATO), CA/OCS/PRI 
(E. BETANCOURT) 
 
SARAJEVO FOR LEGATT 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: CJAN PREL PGOV ODIP EAID SR
SUBJECT: SERBIA: VICE CONSUL ARRESTED IN KOVACEVIC CASE; KOVACEVIC 
TESTIFIES 
 
REF: BELGRADE 770 AND PREVIOUS 
 
Summary 
------- 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Serbian authorities arrested former Vice Consul Igor 
Milosevic on September 2 and are investigating him for misuse of 
authority for issuing a travel document to former University of 
Binghamton basketball player Miladin Kovacevic, who is accused in 
New York of first-degree assault and first-degree gang assault for 
allegedly beating a fellow university student.  In his September 18 
testimony during the hearing on the charges against Milosevic, 
Kovacevic implicated the former Serbian Consul General in the case; 
in comments to the press he alleged mistreatment in the U.S.  End 
Summary. 
 
Vice Consul Detained 
-------------------- 
 
¶2.  (SBU) Serbian authorities detained former Vice Consul Igor 
Milosevic on September 2 in relation to their investigation of his 
role in the flight of Miladin Kovacevic from justice in New York 
(reftel).  Milosevic faces charges of misuse of authority, as he was 
aware that Kovacevic had surrendered his passport to a Broome 
County, New York, court.  Serbian government sources told us on 
September 6 that Milosevic may have also falsified the data on 
Kovacevic's temporary travel document in order to help him avoid 
detection when fleeing the United States. 
 
Kovacevic Testifies 
------------------- 
 
¶3.  (U) Serbian authorities called on Kovacevic and his parents to 
testify during a September 18 hearing on the charges against 
Milosevic.  In informal comments to the press in the courthouse 
hallway, Kovacevic reportedly expressed his desire for the affair to 
be over.  Local daily Vecernje Novosti quoted Kovacevic as saying 
"I'm not a fundamentalist or a member of Al Qaeda who is trying to 
spread ideology, I'm just a regular guy who wants to go back to my 
normal life." Politika reports that Kovacevic told reporters that he 
endured "torture" in the U.S. jail and was threatened with death, 
and claimed that Steinhauer was kept in a coma "artificially." 
 
¶4.  (U) During his testimony Kovacevic reportedly said that he was 
unable to remember many details due to medication he was taking at 
the time of his June 9 release from prison, but said he recalled 
being in the Serbian Consulate in New York and was certain that 
Milosevic had consulted with Consul General Slobodan Nenadovic 
before issuing the temporary travel document. 
 
Reactions to "Absurd Request" to Cancel Support for Serbian 
Basketball 
----------------------------- 
 
¶5.  (U) On September 15, press carried statements from Serbian 
pharmaceutical company Hemofarm director Miodrag Babic announcing 
the company was pulling its support for the Basketball Federation of 
Serbia (KSS) while Kovacevic plays basketball in Serbia.  In his 
statement, Babic said that Hemofarm was complying with an "absurd 
request" from Senator Clinton.  Other Hemofarm officials and 
representatives from KSS criticized the request, saying it created a 
political relationship between the USG and Serbian basketball. 
Tabloid papers and daily Politika criticized Babic for responding to 
the request, citing three other Serbian sponsors of KSS that did not 
react immediately.  Headlines included "Hillary Stops Serbian 
Basketball" "Hillary's Hook Shot," and "Babic Listens to Serbia." 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶6.  (SBU) The Milosevic trial has placed Kovacevic back in the 
Serbian public spotlight and given him the opportunity to repeat his 
lies to the press.  Though the nationalist Serbian media has 
gleefully seized on Kovacevic's statements to again try to portray 
him as a victim of American justice, for the most part, 
sensationalism of the case has diminished.  End Comment. 
 
BRUSH