Serbia demands extradition of Milosevic widow, son
28 Feb 2008 19:45:32 GMT Source: Reuters
(Adds Russian reaction in paras 2 and 4) BELGRADE, Feb 28 (Reuters) - Serbia's Ministry of Justice demanded on Thursday the extradition of the widow and son of Serbian autocrat Slobodan Milosevic, both of whom were granted refugee status by Russia. "Since their whereabouts are known, the Justice Minister decided to send the request for their extradition," the Serbian ministry said in a statement. The Russian Federal Migration Service said it saw no reason to extradite them, Interfax news agency reported its spokesman as saying on Thursday. Russia's migration service said this month that Milosevic's wife, Mira Markovic, and his son Marko had been granted refugee status in 2006 because their lives were under threat in Serbia. "Russia has no reasons to extradite them, which is stipulated by international conventions and agreements. We will not extradite them. They were granted refugee status in Russia," the Federal Migration Service's press secretary Konstantin Poltoranin was quoted as saying by Interfax. Serbia has issued warrants for both on fraud charges via the international police organisation Interpol. Milosevic's son Marko left the country when his father was ousted in October 2000. Markovic fled Serbia for Russia in 2003 during a wave of arrests which followed the assassination of reformist Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic. Before that, she regularly visited Milosevic in The Hague war crimes tribunal where he was on trial for crimes against humanity. He died in March 2006. Several Serbian investigations have been launched, including into allegations they led a cigarette smuggling ring while the country struggled under international sanctions in the 1990s. (Reporting by Ksenija Prodanovic; additional reporting by Conor Sweeney; editing by Ellie Tzortzi and Robert Woodward)
Somali refugees wait outside a registration office at the Kharaz refugee camp in southern Yemen February 13, 2008. Many Africans consider Yemen a gateway to other parts of the Middle East ...
