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Sunday Morning News

Milosevic in Belgrade Jail After Two-Day Stand-Off With Police

Aired April 1, 2001 - 7:01 a.m. ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: We begin this morning in Belgrade, where the man who ruled Yugoslavia with an iron fist for 13 years is behind bars. Slobodan Milosevic surrendered to police after a stand- off that included threats to kill himself and his family. The former president faces local charges of corruption and abuse of power.

Senior international correspondent Walter Rodgers joins us now from Belgrade with the details. Good morning, Walter.

WALTER RODGERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Kyra. The Yugoslav government is expected to hold a news conference, to begin within minutes, to discuss its case against former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic. Mr. Milosevic is now in Belgrade's central prison. He met earlier today with a judge to discuss the case against him.

So, the man who once meted out justice here in Yugoslavia, Slobodan Milosevic, is now in the hands of the judicial system. His arrest came shortly after 4 a.m. Belgrade time.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RODGERS (voice-over): The stand-off outside Slobodan Milosevic's villa ended, not with a bang, but with a whimper. During all night negotiations with government officials, Milosevic reportedly waved his gun, and Ministry of Interior officials said he threatened to shoot himself, his wife and his daughter.

When Yugoslav police first tried to arrest Milosevic early Saturday morning, during an aborted assault, Milosevic then announced he'd rather die than face arrest. He apparently changed his mind on Sunday, however, and now sits in a jail cell in the central prison in Belgrade.

I talked to former Prime Minister Milan Panic about Milosevic and why he surrendered rather than fighting.

MILAN PANIC, FRM. YUGOSLAV PRIME MINISTER: I thought he had -- a little more of a character when he said that he will not surrender. Now, we know not only that he's a bad politician, we know that he's a coward.

RODGERS: Even until the very end, there were die-hard Serbian Milosevic supporters urging him to resist the arrest. Many in this crowd saw the efforts to arrest Milosevic as a government attempt to placate the West, especially the United States, which was demanding Milosevic be arrested and sent to the Hague and tried as a war criminal.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

RODGERS: Right now, Mr. Milosevic could be held in the central prison for up to 30 days, although there could be extensions, perhaps holding him as long as six months. This while the prosecutors gather evidence against him.

If Mr. Milosevic is indicted, there's an interesting legal procedure here in Yugoslavia. He would go before a five-judge panel for his trial. Two of those judges will be professional judges, the other three are what are called judge-jurors; people here, that is, ordinary civilians who would then sit on the panel with the two professional judges. They would hear the case against Mr. Milosevic, and in Yugoslavia, like the United States, a man is still presumed innocent until proven guilty -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: A story, no doubt, we'll continue to follow. Walter Rodgers, thank you so much.

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