Milosevic Testifies in Inquiries of Aide, Guards

Former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic testified Tuesday in the investigations of a key associate and bodyguards accused of firing at police during a standoff that preceded the ex-leader’s arrest.

Milosevic spoke with an investigative judge for about an hour inside his cell at Belgrade’s Central Prison, lawyer Toma Fila said. Fila said he did not know what his client told the magistrate.

The former president’s testimony pertained to aide Sinisa Vucinic, who allegedly ordered bodyguards to fire at the commando unit that tried to arrest Milosevic the night of March 30.

He and 30 bodyguards had been holed up with Milosevic and his family inside the former president’s home in Belgrade, the capital of Yugoslavia and its dominant republic, Serbia.

Milosevic’s April 1 arrest came after the dramatic standoff with special police. Three bodyguards also were under investigation.

Milosevic is under investigation for alleged corruption and abuse of power during his 13 years at the helm. Serbian law allows a suspect to be detained for up to six months without a trial.

Vucinic is also accused of plotting an “armed rebellion” against the pro-democracy government that ousted Milosevic in October, said Lt. Gen. Sreten Lukic, chief of public security for Serbia.

Documents found at the ex-president’s residence allegedly implicate Vucinic and possibly even Milosevic in what amounts to a planned coup, police said.

Two other key Milosevic associates and senior Socialist Party officials, Nikola Sainovic and Jovan Zebic, are to be questioned in court this week for allegedly siphoning off funds from the Yugoslav and Serbian budgets.

Also Tuesday, the Belgrade district court officially opened an investigation against Borka Vucic, known as Milosevic’s “private banker.” Vucic is accused of diverting millions of dollars of state funds to Milosevic’s and other private accounts.