Deputy state prosecutor held over Serb gang links

Serbian police arrested Milan Sarajlic, the deputy state prosecutor, yesterday for alleged links with the Zemun clan, the criminal gang suspected of ordering the assassination of the late prime minister, Zoran Djindjic.

The arrest came as the parliament purged the Milosevic-era judiciary of 35 judges, including seven sitting on the Supreme Court.

Vladan Batic, the Justice Minister, said: "Inefficiency of courts allowed a number of killers and other criminals to dodge justice for years."

Mr Djindjic was gunned down last week by a sniper. The judiciary has been blamed for the poor handling of the investigation into a previous assassination attempt on Mr Djindjic, when his car was pushed off the road. The man driving the truck that swerved into Mr Djindjic's vehicle was released immediately after the incident in February. The investigating judge found no evidence of an assassination attempt at the time.

The government also ordered the closure of two newspapers believed to be funded by the Serbian mafia.