War crimes accused arrested in Serbian assassination probe

SERBIAN ultra-nationalist Vojislav Seselj has been charged in connection with last month’s assassination of reformist Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic.

He faces charges of "incitement to terrorism and murder", Serbian Interior Minister Dusan Mihajlovic said yesterday.

Mr Seselj is currently in The Hague, awaiting trial on war crimes charges, which he denies.

Mr Mihajlovic said 44 other people had also been charged with similar offences and that 15 people were directly involved in the assassination plot.

He said that among the detainees were Rade Bulatovic, an aid to former Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica and also former security chief Aco Tomic.

Mr Djindjic was gunned down in broad daylight outside government offices in Belgrade on 12 March.

Police believe he was killed to prevent a crackdown on members of the powerful Zemun organised crime gang. Immediately after the assassination, the Serbian authorities said the attack had been an attempt to destabilise the country and overthrow Mr Djindjic's reformist government.

A state of emergency was declared, and more than 1,000 people were detained in sweeping raids by the Serbian police.

The measure also enabled the authorities to launch a crackdown against some allies of former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic, suspected of involvement in the killing.

Several members of Serbia's elite police unit Red Berets or Unit for Special Operations (JSO) were arrested.

JSO deputy commander Zvezdan Jovanovic was also detained on suspicion of carrying out the assassination.

However, the alleged mastermind of the assassination former special police commander Milorad Lukovic, known as "Legija" remains at large.