(25 Feb 2001) Serbo-Croat/Nat
Serb police arrested the man who served as secret service chief for Slobodan Milosevic Saturday on charges that may lead to his prosecution for murder and attempted murder.
Serbian Justice Minister Vladan Batic said the former chief of Serbia's Security Service, Radomir Markovic, and two other officials in the Ministry of Information were charged.
SOUNDBITE: (Serbo-Croat)
"We have started a determined fight against the crime and I want to say that no-one will be untouchable in the fight. We want to promote the principle of responsibility up to the highest levels of government and no-one can be excused."
SUPER CAPTION: Vladan Batic, Serbian Justice Minister
Markovic has been blamed for a road accident of 3 October, 1999, involving the then leader of a popular Serbian opposition faction, Vuk Draskovic.
Draskovic was not seriously hurt in the crash but four other people including Draskovic's bodyguard, Zvonko Omajlic, were killed.
Political analysts say the move that could signal that Yugoslavia's new leaders are preparing to arrest Milosevic himself.
Markovic was fired last month when the new Serb government was elected.
He was one of Milosevic's closest allies and was responsible for carrying out some of the former president's key policies.
Markovic's arrest Friday was ordered by a Belgrade District prosecutor.
SOUNDBITE: (Serbo-Croat)
"Acting upon the order for criminal charges from the Serbian Interior Ministry the District Prosecutor has begun an investigation for criminal proceedings against the former chief of the Security Service Mr. Radomir Markovic for reasonable doubt that he committed a murder according to the article 4 paragraph two slash six of the Serbian penal code and the criminal act of faking official papers. Two other people working for the Ministry of Information of Serbia are also under investigation for the criminal act of murder under article 4 paragraph two slash six and all in connection with the event that happened on the 3rd of October 1999 on the road between Belgrade and Catak when a Mercedes owned by the Serbian Ministry of Police organised a traffic accident thus murdering four people. In the same accident Vuk Draskovic was injured."
SUPER CAPTION: Vladan Batic, Serbian Justice Minister
Belgrade police chief Branko Djuric was arrested along with Markovic.
Markovic has been informally accused of involvement in alleged assassinations of Milosevic opponents, including Slavko Curuvija, a newspaper publisher who had fiercely criticized Milosevic and was gunned down in 1999.
Markovic's arrest suggested the new, pro-democratic leaders in Yugoslavia, and its dominant republic Serbia, are stepping up legal action against allies of Milosevic, who they blame for widespread crime and corruption during his 13-year rule.
Little is known of the secretive Markovic, believed to be in his early 50s.
He was made Milosevic's secret service chief in 1998 after serving as Serbia's deputy interior minister for public security.
Before that he was the head of Belgrade's police department.
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