By Jovana Gec
The Associated Press
BELGRADE, Serbia — Serbian authorities stepped up security at a high-security prison Tuesday after a dangerous prison inmate jailed for his role in the assassination of a prime minister tried to break out with another high-profile convict.
Sretko Kalinic and Zeljko Milovanovic broke down their cell doors, attacked a guard and jumped out of the window into the yard, the central authorities in charge of Serbia’s prisons said in a statement. Both men were caught shortly after and returned to their cells.
Kalinic, a multiple murder convict known in underground circles as “the beast” for his brutality, is serving a 30-year sentence for his role in the 2003 assassination of then Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic. He has also been given an additional 40 years for various crimes, ranging from executions to robbery.
Milovanovic was convicted in neighboring Croatia to 40 years in prison for the 2008 killing of a prominent journalist and his associate. He is also being tried in Serbia for various other crimes.
Authorities said an investigation is underway to determine if any of the staff at the prison in the capital Belgrade helped the men. All employees in the prison block have been suspended, the statement said.
Authorities have stepped up security at the District Prison, which also hosts other high-profile convicts. The statement said the situation is under control.
Djindjic, Serbia’s first reformist prime minister since World War II was gunned down in front of the government headquarters in central Belgrade by a group of criminals and paramilitaries.
Djindjic played a key role in the ouster from power of late autocrat Slobodan Milosevic in 2000.