Results tagged “serbianconsulate”

Still angry that a student accused of attacking a fellow student at Binghamton University is avoiding U.S. authorities by staying in Serbia, Senator Charles Schumer said the U.S. should withhold $50 million in aid to the county. However if Serbia turns over Miladin Kovacevic (pictured), it is welcome to the money.

Miladin Kovacevic, who is wanted by U.S. authorities after being charged with beating a fellow Binghamton University student into a coma, has signed a contract with a Serbian basketball club. Kovacevic, who attended Binghamton on a basketball scholarship, will play for KK Vrbas which is in a regional Serbian league, according to the AP. The team's captain said the team "is on his side," presumably meaning they support his decision to flee the authorities and refusal to face charges in the U.S. It's unclear what U.S. officials will do next, as they have already spoken to the Serbian government and Kovacevic's parents. The beating victim, Bryan Steinhauer, is still in critical condition.

Miladin Kovacevic, who was charged with beating a fellow Binghamton University student into a coma, told a Serbian paper he won't return to America, "I know I am not guilty and I will prove that in front of a Serbian judge. I don't believe in the American legal system anymore." Kovacevic had fled the U.S. with the help of the Serbian consulate; U.S. officials have asked Serbia to return Kovacevic for prosecution here. The 21-year-old went on to say, "I'm sincerely worried about the security of my younger sister and of my family. Please understand that I can't tell you more for good reasons. I admit I'm in shock and I'm even afraid of the things I cannot see."

As the Serbian government tries to demonstrate it is serious about cooperating with the U.S. government in finding a Serbian citizen accused of beating another man into a coma in Binghamton, outgoing Serbian officials fired the head of the consulate.

Yesterday, the federal government formally asked the Serbia to extradite Miladin Kovacevic, who is charged with beating a fellow Binghamton University student into a coma. The U.S. ambassador met with Serbian officials in Belgrade, and now the Serbian government is "moving with laser beam speed," a Daily News source says.

After outrage and questions about how the Serbian Consulate apparently helped a suspect in an upstate NY beating flee the country, Senator Charles Schumer now thinks the Serbian government will cooperate, telling reporters, "The new [Serbian] government has a different outlook in terms of the United States and the West. The old government was hostile. The new government wants to be very friendly and be part of the West." In other words, having the vice consul pay the $100,000 cash bail for Miladin Kovacevic and providing an emergency passport to the suspect isn't very friendly. Kovacevic is accused of brutally beating Brooklyn resident Bryan Steinhauer at a bar in Binghamton; Steinhauer has been in a coma for over a month.

Over the past week, American officials have questioned why a Serbian student at Binghamton University was allowed to flee the country while he was charged with beating another student into a coma. Today, the Serbian Consul General Slobodan Nenedovic tells the Post, "I will think about resigning, absolutely."