ledasi's blog

beating at n.y. bar strains us-serbia relations

 abuse

By KAREN MATTHEWS
Associated Press Writer

Posted: Today at 4:17 a.m.
Updated: Today at 4:29 a.m.

NEW YORK — It started as a bar fight in a college town in upstate New York. Police say a hulking basketball player from Serbia beat a fellow college student to a bloody pulp and fled to his home country, setting off a diplomatic crisis.

U.S. senators have intervened on the victim's behalf, reaching out to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and threatening to pull back aid to Serbia over the episode. Serbia has refused to cooperate, damaging relations between the two countries just as the nation's new pro-Western government was hoping for a new era in diplomacy with the United States.

American officials in Belgrade delivered a diplomatic note to the Serbian government on Wednesday demanding that the suspect, Miladin Kovacevic, be returned to the U.S. by Aug. 1. Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., said he has spoken to Rice about the case, and "neither the executive branch nor the Senate will rest until Mr. Kovacevic is returned to the United States to face justice."

"There is a great deal of leverage we have on the Serbian government and if we have to look at foreign aid, we will," Schumer said Thursday.

In a statement, the Serbian consulate in New York did not address the Aug. 1 deadline, but said, "The Serbian government remains committed to cooperation with American authorities at all levels."

Meanwhile, the parents of Bryan Steinhauer, who authorities say was assaulted by Kovacevic in Binghamton, said Thursday that their son is slowly emerging from a coma.

"He doesn't have full consciousness," said the 22-year-old's father, Richard Steinhauer. "He's kind of sleepwalking."

The 6-foot-9, 260-pound Kovacevic and two other men were arrested on assault charges after Steinhauer was nearly beaten to death on May 4.

Steinhauer's parents said their son was repeatedly kicked in the head while he lay bleeding on the floor and suffered multiple skull fractures.

"He remains unable to eat, sleep or walk," Richard Steinhauer, 57, of Brooklyn, said at a news conference in Manhattan. "His prognosis remains uncertain. We do not know when or even if we will ever get our son back."

The student's mother, Marlene Steinhauer, 60, added: "We miss our only child, Bryan, whom we love and have raised for 22 years. ... He was quick-thinking, kind and had his own big dreams. He only gave his family and friends pride and joy throughout his life."

Bryan Steinhauer and Kovacevic, 21, attended Binghamton University, where Kovacevic had been recruited to play basketball.

According to police, Kovacevic was at a bar in Binghamton when Steinhauer danced with the girlfriend of one of Kovacevic's friends. Witnesses told police the men exchanged words. At least one account had Steinhauer punching Kovacevic in the back of the head before being knocked unconscious by Kovacevic.

Steinhauer's mother said her son was an assault victim, not a bar brawler.

"Bryan weighed 130 pounds," she said. "Now he weighs around 100."

After several weeks in jail, Kovacevic was released June 6 when his parents posted the $100,000 bail through the Serbian consulate. As a condition of his release, Kovacevic surrendered his passport.

But on June 9, Kovacevic (pronounced koh-VAH'-che-vitch) flew from Newark, N.J., to Frankfurt, Germany, using an emergency passport issued to him by the consulate office, said the Steinhauers' lawyer, Irwin Rochman.

Serbian Deputy Consul Igor Milosevic reportedly gave Kovacevic the passport.

In its statement Thursday, the Serbian consulate said two diplomats who aided Kovacevic in fleeing the United States were brought before the disciplinary commission of Serbia's Foreign Ministry and are being dismissed. The consulate said the diplomats may also face criminal charges.

But Serbia has refused to turn over Kovacevic, saying its laws do not allow the extradition of its citizens to the United States.

Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic told reporters this week that the "case has dealt a serious blow to the already strained relations between Washington and Belgrade," adding that he will apologize to American officials during a visit to the U.S. this week.

Kovacevic's lawyer, Veselin Cerovic, said earlier this month that his client fled because he didn't trust the U.S. justice system.

Cerovic said Kovacevic told him that while in detention, he was subjected to "torture and disdain" because he is a Serb. In the meantime, Kovacevic reportedly signed a contract with a Serbian basketball team.

The other two men charged with assaulting Steinhauer are being held without bail in upstate Broome County.

Asked what he would say to Kovacevic if he could, Richard Steinhauer said, "Come back. ... If someone commits a crime, they should take the consequences for it."

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Associated Press Writer Devlin Barrett in Washington contributed to this report.