Former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic has been placed under round-the-clock police surveillance, new Serbian Interior Minister Mr Dusan Mihajlovic said.
Mr Mihajlovic was named as part of Serbia's new reformist government last week and had promised to take the measure because Mr Milosevic is wanted by the UN war crimes tribunal and is, he said, being investigated by local justice authorities.
Many Serbian and Yugoslav reform leaders have said Mr Milosevic should not be given to the UN tribunal in The Hague, which has indicted him on Kosovo war crimes charges, but have suggested he could face a trial in his homeland.
Reuters