Djindjic Suspect Says He's Not Guilty

I’m not guilty: prime Djindjic suspect
B92 - June 14, 2004

BELGRADE -- Monday – The prime suspect in the Djindjic assassination, Milorad “Legija” Ulemek, told a Belgrade court today that he was not guilty on any of the charges against him.

“Neither I nor any member of the Special Operations Unit were in any way involved in organising or executing the assassination of the prime minister of Serbia, Zoran Djindjic,” Ulemek told the organised crime chamber of the Belgrade District Court.

The court had earlier accepted a submission from Ulemek’s lawyers that he be permitted to speak in his defence today, a right he had refused on Thursday last week, citing the imminent presidential election in Serbia.

He addressed the court for several hours, rarely touching on the accusations against him, but spoke about his acquaintance with Zemun Gang leader Dusan Spasojevic as well as Zoran Djindjic and people from the late prime minister’s inner circle.

In the course of his monologue he implicated a number of politicians, businessmen and others in the sale of 700 kilograms of heroin from a safe deposit in Belgrade’s Commercial Bank.

Ulemek claimed that the drug deal was organised by former deputy prime minister Cedomir Jovanovic, and a former security advisor to the prime minister, Zoran Janjusevic, among others, with the assistance of his own people from the Special Operations Unit of the Serbian police.

He told the court he had agreed to distribute heroin in neighbouring countries in order to pay back the West for bombing Serbia. The deal was struck just days after the arrest of Slobodan Milosevic in April, 2001.

Ulemek described his first meeting with Zoran Djindjic, on October 5, 2000, as “correct”, adding that he believed the future prime minister did not have any ill intentions.

After leaving the police service, he said, he had decided to take refuge in Greece and was given thirty thousand dollars by Cedomir Jovanovic because he had no money at the time.

He emphasised in court that he had not been involved in the mutiny of the Special Operations Unit members in November, 2001, but spoke at length about his role in calming the tensions which had led to the incident.

Distancing himself from the Zemun Gang and its alleged involvement in the assassination, Ulemek several times referred to serious disagreements which developed between him and gang leader Dusan Spasojevic during the second half of 2002.

The assassination suspect also spoke about his time in Greece and his contacts with unnamed businessmen who, he claimed wanted to use his political contacts to buy into major state business in Serbia.

None of these deals came off, said Ulemek, who claimed that the late prime minister had told him this was the fault of his associates failing to take action.

He also detailed a number of meetings with Djindjic, claiming they were held in cars, or in the apartment of the then government spin doctor, Vladimir “Beba” Popovic, and other discreet places.

Ulemek claimed to be exhausted by his statement and unable to continue. He will resume tomorrow.

Lawyer Slobodan Soskic told B92 that the legal right of a defendant to answer the charges is not limited in anyway.

“There is no legal constraint that you must tell the truth, you can defend yourself in any you like, even with lies,” said Soskic.

Whether or not Ulemek has evidence for everything he has said today will be revealed during the evidentiary phase of the proceedings, he added.