Serbian suspect surrenders

2004-05-03 10:32

Belgrade, Serbia-Montenegro - A notorious paramilitary leader, suspected of masterminding last year's assassination of Serbia's prime minister, has surrendered to police.

Milorad Lukovic, known by his nickname Legija, surrendered at 21:00 on Sunday in Belgrade, Serbian Interior Minister Dragan Jocic said.

Lukovic had been on the run since March 12 2003, when reformist Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic was gunned down by a sniper in front of his Belgrade government headquarters.

Lukovic, who led a dreaded paramilitary unit during the 1990s wars in Croatia, Bosnia and Kosovo, is the No. 1 suspect in the slaying. He has been tried in absentia since December, along with 13 other paramilitary and gang figures.

"Legija showed up in front of his house in Belgrade and told policemen guarding the house that he wanted to surrender," said Miroslav Milosevic, Serbia's public security chief.

Lukovic, 39, who allegedly also led a Belgrade criminal gang known as the "Zemun Clan", went by his nickname after serving in the French foreign legion in the 1980s.

'Red Berets'

Lukovic's unit, known as the "Red Berets", is suspected of committing numerous war crimes against non-Serbs during the Balkan wars in the 1990s. The unit was loyal to then-President Slobodan Milosevic, who is on trial at the UN war crimes tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands.

Djindjic, a reform-minded, pro-Western premier, masterminded the toppling of Milosevic in October 2000 and his extradition to the tribunal a year later.

After the wars ended in 1999, Lukovic commanded a special anti-terrorist police unit. He was dismissed as its commander in 2001 during Djindjic's rule.

Lukovic also was suspected in an assassination attempt in 1999 against Serbia-Montenegro's current Foreign Minister, Vuk Draskovic, during Milosevic's reign, when Draskovic led the opposition against the former Yugoslav and Serbian president.

"I am very glad that he has surrendered," Draskovic said. "He understood that he cannot elude justice. I hope that he will tell all about the crimes, who exactly committed them and who ordered them. Families of the victims need truth and accountability."

A member of Lukovic's unit, Zvezdan Jovanovic, is standing trial on suspicion of firing the bullet that killed Djindjic.

Jovanovic's lawyer, Nenad Vukasovic, confirmed Lukovic's surrender.

"We will see now how things will develop, but I expect that many new, interesting details will emerge that will expose some from the former government, members of (Djindjic's) Democratic Party," Vukasovic said. He did not elaborate.

The surrender will "reveal many quality details - many who claimed to be absolutely innocent will find themselves in the dock", Vukasovic said.

Belgrade media have alleged that Lukovic - who had a celebrity status among Serbian nationalists - hid in Bulgaria, Bosnia and Croatia after Djindjic's assassination.

- AP