Court reinstates Milosevic widow arrest warrant

A Belgrade court today reinstated an arrest warrant for late ex-president Slobodan Milosevic’s widow after she failed to appear for a hearing in the Serbian case against her.

Mirjana Markovic, who has lived in self-imposed exile in Moscow since 2003, is charged with abuse of power during her husband’s 13-year rule in Serbia.

Last week, the Belgrade District Court suspended a warrant for Markovic’s arrest to enable her to attend Milosevic’s funeral in the eastern town of Pozarevac on Saturday.

Markovic’s lawyers then deposited cash as a guarantee she would co-operate with the court.

However, Markovic did not return to Serbia for the funeral, nor did she appear for a scheduled hearing today, prompting the court to reactivate the warrant.

The court said the bail money will go Serbia’s judiciary budget.