Slobodan Milosevic, the deposed Yugoslav president who presided over 10 years of war and ethnic cleansing, may be arrested within days, according to sources in Belgrade.
An entire floor of Belgrade's huge central prison has been cleared and prepared to host Mr Milosevic and some of his closest aides, other sources, in the police and justice ministry, said. The prison preparations have been heavily reported in the Serbian press.
Rade Markovic, the former head of the Serbian secret police and one of Mr Milosevic's most trusted aides, was arrested on two days ago.
But Vojislav Kostunica, the new Yugoslav President, and Vladan Batic, the Serbian Justice Minister, both sought to play down the reports that Mr Milosevic's arrest was imminent. The new regime has said it wants to avoid any possibility of Mr Milosevic being made into a martyr.
Mr Milosevic, who has been living in the presidential palace despite being deposed in October, is wanted for genocide and crimes against humanity by the international war crimes tribunal in The Hague.
Any arrest is expected to be on a domestic warrant – the Yugoslav authorities have been insisting he must face trial for crimes at home before extradition on war crimes charges to The Hague.
Arrest of Milosevic is 'imminent,' say Serbian media
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