“Đorđević came from Moscow, via Belgrade”

Podgorica, The Hague, Jun 19 (Source: B92) - Vlastimir Đorđević came to Montenegro from Moscow a week before he was arrested, Podgorica daily Vijesti reports. According to the article published this morning, Đorđević, former Serbian police general and Hague indictee, arrived with personal documentation issued to him in Serbia.

The action of arresting Đorđević began with information that he had come to Budva from Moscow with fake personal identification given to him in Serbia, approximately seven days before his arrest, the daily stated, citing sources close to the action. The sources said that Đorđević was under continuous surveillance during that period. He was reported to have frequently changed his location, switching in between three apartments in Budva.

Vijesti’s sources claim that Đorđević had a beard and longer hair, a definite change in appearance since the last time he was seen seven years ago. Police inspectors detained Đorđević, meeting him at the entrance of his building. He did not resist arrest, according to the source. The source said that, prior to the arrest, Đorđević came on several occasions for a period of three to four days to Budva and northern Montenegro.

Late Sunday, Đorđević was extradited and placed in the Hague Tribunal’s Scheveningen detention center. According to Hague official Refik Hodžić, Tribunal judges will determine Monday when Đorđević will plead before the war crimes court. “Đorđević was arrested after cooperation between the Hague Tribunal, Montenegrin and Serbian government,” Hodžić told B92. According to B92’s sources, information about Đorđević’s whereabouts was given by Hague investigators to local police in Montenegro, who are said to have been surprised by the information. This was followed by a “quick and effective action,” in which Serbian operatives played an important role as well, Hague sources said.

Hague Chief Prosecutor Carla Del Ponte had accused Russia and Serbia of helping to hide the fugitive, while Montenegrin officials claimed that there were no Hague fugitives on its territory. Đorđević, until Sunday one of the five remaining indictees at large, is charged with war crimes allegedly committed in Kosovo in 1999, while he was in charge of the Serbian Ministry of the Interior (MUP) Public Security department.

<<<