College Student Fugitive Who Fled To Serbia From New York *ESPN Video Update*

[JamesG]

I don't know if anyone else heard about this story but it has made headlines where I am in NYC.

Last May 2008, a bar fight between Binghamton University students led into an international incident. The details vary but basically a student was pummeled by 3 men and he is still in a coma today from this incident. The 3 attackers were arrested but 1 of them got away.

That one is Serbian citizen, Miladin Kovacevic, who fled back to Serbia. What happened was that his parents posted his $100,000 bail and he was told that he had to stay in the country and had his passport taken away. However, through his family's Serbian diplomatic connections Miladin was granted an emergency passport; thus allowing him to get on a plane into Serbia.

Miladin has now been free back in his home country and this has gotten the attention of Condoleeza Rice and many US Senators; such as Hilary Clinton. The US is demanding the extradition of Miladin but Serbia will not extradite one of their nationals.

Back In August the US declared an ultimatum to Serbia to hand him back over within 10 days or face "serious consequences". Miladin is still in Serbia and nothing has happened.

What do you think will happen with this? Do you think this kid is off scot-free?


Here are some news videos on this:
This was posted in July:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UV1yLVWwZeI


This is recent, posted last week: http://video.aol.com/video-detail/serbian-fugitive/3305227583

[Lee]

I don't know if anyone else heard about this story but it has made headlines where I am in NYC.

Last May 2008, a bar fight between Binghamton University students led into an international incident. The details vary but basically a student was pummeled by 3 men and he is still in a coma today from this incident. The 3 attackers were arrested but 1 of them got away.

That one is Serbian citizen, Miladin Kovacevic, who fled back to Serbia. What happened was that his parents posted his $100,000 bail and he was told that he had to stay in the country and had his passport taken away. However, through his family's Serbian diplomatic connections Miladin was granted an emergency passport; thus allowing him to get on a plane into Serbia.

Miladin has now been free back in his home country and this has gotten the attention of Condoleeza Rice and many US Senators; such as Hilary Clinton. The US is demanding the extradition of Miladin but Serbia will not extradite one of their nationals.

Back In August the US declared an ultimatum to Serbia to hand him back over within 10 days or face "serious consequences". Miladin is still in Serbia and nothing has happened.

What do you think will happen with this? Do you think this kid is off scot-free?


How can the Serbian government turn a blind eye to justice?

[TJL]

The New York papers have been following this story since it happened.

Sadly, it looks like this punk is never going to be brought to justice. The Serbian government is probably going to do nothing. This jerk is hiding behind his government's extradition laws, and he's not coming back. In his mind, the big bad U.S. government is out to get him. He's a coward.

Any government who doesn't help us bring fugitives to justice should not be worthy of the United States help in other matters, IMO.

[Pus$y Galore]

How can the Serbian government turn a blind eye to justice?


The same with the Aruban and Mexican governments turned a blind eye to justice. Look at that pretty blonde college student from the U.S. who was murdered in Aruba and there have been at least 3 incidents with Canadian tourists being murdered at high end hotels in Mexico and neither government would do a darn thing about them.

[JamesG]

The same with the Aruban and Mexican governments turned a blind eye to justice. Look at that pretty blonde college student from the U.S. who was murdered in Aruba and there have been at least 3 incidents with Canadian tourists being murdered at high end hotels in Mexico and neither government would do a darn thing about them.

About Natalee Holloway from Aruba, do you really think it was murder? As in ruling out accidental death or something like that?

[Pus$y Galore]

About Natalee Holloway from Aruba, do you really think it was murder? As in ruling out accidental death or something like that?

Yes - thanks - that was her name. I just don't think so. If it had been you would have hoped one of those guys would have finally got the guts to say so and let the evidence (or lack of) and chips lay where they fall.

I have a terrible feeling it was a gang rape that went "wrong" or over the edge.

[TJL]

Looks like I stand corrected!

Breaking news: Serbian authorities have arrested Miladin Kovacevic!

Just saw a report on TV.

[JamesG]

Looks like I stand corrected!

Breaking news: Serbian authorities have arrested Miladin Kovacevic!

Just saw a report on TV.

I saw it too. The exact reason for the arrest was unclear. I'd like to know what took 5 months for it to happen.

Serbia is not obliged to hand Miladin back to the United States as we do not have extradition agreements with them. They *could* clear him by Serbian court and have him still live there.

We'll see what happens...

[JamesG]

This is the latest on what is going on with this:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/22/AR2009012201429.html

[JamesG]

What is the Serbian's government problem with us? They keep trying to
rub this in our faces. Kovacevic has said that he will never return to the
U.S. and his family says that the only reason he is being "persecuted"
is because he is a Serb and we hate the Serbian Goverment(bullpoop!)

Just send in the Army and let's drag him out kicking and screaming!


The Serbian government has been no stranger in hiding fugitives. Remember in the 1990s with that dude Arkan that ran the para-military group that gunned down 1000s of people? The Serbs openly had him doing what he wanted with free reign and did nothing; the UN had him wanted as a war criminal.

[JamesG]

The latest update with this is that some deal was arranged between Serbia and the victim's family to pay them $900,000.

Unlikely Miladin will ever come back to the US.

http://www.nypost.com/seven/02222009/news/nationalnews/hill_queezes_serbs_156372.htm

[TJL]

The latest update with this is that some deal was arranged between Serbia and the victim's family to pay them $900,000.

Unlikely Miladin will ever come back to the US.

http://www.nypost.com/seven/02222009/news/nationalnews/hill_queezes_serbs_156372.htm

Interesting.

That jerk had better keep himself out of trouble in his homeland. His government just paid a million bucks to keep him out of U.S. jail, and I'm sure a few of his fellow countrymen will have something to say about that.

[Doodyville10019]

The latest update with this is that some deal was arranged between Serbia and the victim's family to pay them $900,000.

Unlikely Miladin will ever come back to the US.

http://www.nypost.com/seven/02222009/news/nationalnews/hill_queezes_serbs_156372.htm


Well I'm sure it will cost the comatose kid's family more than that to keep their son alive. They should have paid them two million!

[OH Nuts!]

The creep bully in Serbia is always going to have to watch his back. He's on the radar screen and things could change against his favor at any moment. There are plenty of people very interested in seeing him face justice...so we shall see.....

[JamesG]

ESPN did a video report a few weeks ago about the Kovacevic incident. It's now been a little over a year since this went down.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30ibFk9Ku8A

[TJL]

ESPN did a video report a few weeks ago about the Kovacevic incident. It's now been a little over a year since this went down.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30ibFk9Ku8A

Thanks for posting that.

It's a shame what they did to that kid.

Kovacevic is a coward. He claims he's innocent, yet he ran home to his motherland as soon as he made bail. What a lowlife.

I seriously doubt the Serbian justice system will be as tough on Kovacevic as we would be. If he gets off scott free in a Serbian court, I hope the U.S. takes appropriate measures, like cutting off all financial aid for starters.

[browneyes106]

I just read some of the articles and watched the videos. There have been a lof of similar cases like this where other countries turn a blind eye and refuse extradite people. I had relatives who lived in Maryland in the late 90's during the time of the Sam Sheinbein case. He murdered a former classmate with the help of a friend. He later fled to Israel because his dad had dual citizenship and due to the Israeli laws he was never extradited to the U.S. and was tried in Israeli courts and sentenced to 24 years in a prison there. The prisons there are like resorts compared to U.S. prisons.

I live in New Mexico and there are a lot of incidents illegal immigrants committing crimes and then going to Mexico to escape jusitce.

[InspectorExstead]

Kovacevic is a coward. He claims he's innocent, yet he ran home to his motherland as soon as he made bail. What a lowlife.

I seriously doubt the Serbian justice system will be as tough on Kovacevic as we would be. If he gets off scott free in a Serbian court, I hope the U.S. takes appropriate measures, like cutting off all financial aid for starters.

You said it. If he knew he was innocent, he would not have ran back home. He knew Serbia wouldn't prosecute him, or at least as much as the US would.

[JamesG]

Thanks for posting that.

It's a shame what they did to that kid.

Kovacevic is a coward. He claims he's innocent, yet he ran home to his motherland as soon as he made bail. What a lowlife.

I seriously doubt the Serbian justice system will be as tough on Kovacevic as we would be. If he gets off scott free in a Serbian court, I hope the U.S. takes appropriate measures, like cutting off all financial aid for starters.

I have read the various stories about what went down in the bar that night; remember there is always two (or more) sides to every story.

Even if Steinhauer had attacked Kovacevic what he did went beyond what counts as self-defense. Self-defense means that you do what is deemed necessary to get out of a dangerous/violent situation. Kicking someone in the head repeatedly on the floor goes beyond that since the threat wasn't there anymore.

According to Kovacevic's lawyer he just pushed him out of the way after Steinhauer threw punches? :confused: It must have been one really hard push to cause all that damage.


Now it depends on how far Serbia is willing to go with this. I think you're right about their courts being not as harsh as the US; especially if they want to put this kid on a pedestal as some sort of anti-US resistance.