Lazarevic banned from leaving Belgrade

BELGRADE - The Special Department for Criminal Acts of Organised Crime of the Belgrade High Court pronounced a ban on leaving residence without court approval for Branko Lazarevic, charge d'affaires of the Serbian Embassy in Athens, and temporarily seized his passport.

On Wednesday, Lazarevic was interrogated for nine hours in the Criminal Police Department on suspicion that he cooperated with members of the group led by runaway drug lord Darko Saric. The questioning continued in the Prosecutor's Office for Organised Crime.

At the proposition by the Prosecutor's Office, the Special Court judge also pronounced a restraining order for Lazarevic with regard to one suspect and one witness because of the risk that he may use leverage to exert pressure on them and hinder the investigation.

Lazarevic will be released pending trial but he will make himself available to the Serbian justice system at all times.

Serbian Prosecutor for Organised Crime Miljko Radisavljevic told Tanjug on Thursday that the prosecution will carry out some additional investigative actions within the preliminary investigation which will serve as grounds for adoption of the decision regarding the criminal charges the police filed against Lazarevic and two more suspects.

The suspects are charged with joint enterprise to commit crime and disclosure of official secrets.

The said crimes entail a prison sentence of eight years of imprisonment and instead of an investigation, the law envisages summary proceedings and adoption of the decision concerning the criminal charges and potential indictment on grounds of investigative actions in the preliminary investigation.

Lazarevic was interrogated in the Criminal Police Department and...