Milosevic arrested and taken to prison

3.30 pm

BELGRADE - Former Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic was arrested today and taken to Belgrade's central prison to face charges of corruption and abuse of power, the Serbian interior ministry has said.

The arrest, after a gunbattle during the second of two failed attempts to bring the ex-strongman into custody, apparently took place without injury.

The quiet end to a tense stand-off that had lasted nearly 36 hours came in the pre-dawn hours when most of the capital was asleep. But local television stations were broadcasting news through the night.

Milosevic is also wanted by the International War Crimes Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia on charges of crimes against humanity. In 1999, in the middle of NATO's bombing campaign against Yugoslavia, he became the world's first serving head of state to face such an indictment.

The interior ministry statement said police had brought Milosevic into custody on suspicion of violating Article 26 of the Yugoslav Criminal Law and surrendered him to the investigative judge in charge. The statement, carried by the state news agency Tanjug, said there was no resistance during the arrest, and no use of force.

According to radio B92, Milosevic decided to turn himself in to end the crisis and avert the risk of bloodshed. A political source confirmed independently that Milosevic, 59, had been brought in.

At around the same time, reporters near Milosevic's home saw a convoy of a few vehicles coming from the direction of the residence after about five gunshots were heard.

Shortly afterwards, reporters outside the Belgrade central prison saw a small convoy of black official limousines and jeeps arrive there.

The former president was expected to be arraigned before a judge to answer an indictment charging, among other alleged crimes, that he set up a criminal conspiracy to use state customs revenues for his own and his party's political ends.

Article 26 states that:

"Whoever committed criminal acts or used an organization, band, conspiracy, group or other criminal organization is responsible for all criminal acts which proceed from the criminal plan of such organizations and is punished as if he carried it out himself, regardless of whether he was directly involved or in what capacity in the committing of these acts."

Milosevic could also face charges of resisting arrest stemming from Saturday's shootout in which a policeman was injured by members of his private Praetorian guard.

According to Serbian Interior Minister Dusan Mihajlovic, the shots were fired by Milosevic's adult daughter, Marija, after he had given himself up. Saturday's failed arrest bids exposed tensions between President Vojislav Kostunica and the Yugoslav Army on one side and Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic and the police on the other, with allegations flying that senior army officers were trying to block the legal process.

Kostunica has repeatedly made clear that he does not favor transferring Milosevic to international tribunal at The Hague.

Diehard supporters of the hardline nationalist leader have accused the country's reformist leaders of selling him out to the West for a fistful of dollars - a reference to the $50 million in aid that Yugoslavia stands to gain if Washington deems it is cooperating with its United Nations obligations.


- REUTERS

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International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia

Serbian Ministry of Information

Serbian Radio - Free B92

Otpor: Serbian Student Resistance Movement