Milosevic claims he is innocent of abuse of power, corruption

BELGRADE, Yugoslavia - Yugoslav authorities ordered a haggard Slobodan Milosevic held for 30 days as they considered the evidence behind charges of corruption and abuse of power stemming from his ruinous 13-year rule.

The former president surrendered before dawn yesterday, ending a chaotic 26-hour armed standoff during which he reportedly brandished a pistol and threatened to kill himself and members of his family.

Milosevic pleaded innocent and was appealing the detention order, said his lawyer, Toma Fila. "He decided to defend himself," Fila said. He will speak up and tell the truth."

Despite months of international pressure to have him extradited to the U.N. war crimes tribunal, which indicted him for crimes against humanity after his brutal crackdown on ethnic Albanians in Kosovo in 1999, officials insisted he first would be tried at home for ruining the country. But they held out the possibility of a later trial by the tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands.

Bundled into a police car, Milosevic was brought to Belgrade's Central Prison early yesterday.

Describing Milosevic as a "reasonable man who did not want any more Serb blood to be spilled," Fila blamed authorities for provoking the violence that preceded the arrest by sending riot police to storm the residence.

Authorities interrogated Milosevic yesterday in connection with alleged abuse of power and corruption. The charges, which carry a maximum of five years in prison on conviction, include allegations that as president of Serbia and later Yugoslavia, Milosevic conspired with four top aides to steal about $390 million in Yugoslav dinars and German marks from the country's treasury.

More serious charges could be raised over the months ahead, possibly including involvement in a series of political assassinations. The questioning is set to resume Tuesday.