Jul 7, 2008 6:58 pm US/Eastern
Family Of Serb Accused In NY Beating Speaks Out
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
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Miladin Kovacevic, who was recruited to play basketball for Binghamton University in upstate New York, was arrested after a May 4 fight at a downtown Binghamton bar that left student Bryan Steinhauer near death.
CBS
The Brooklyn college student who was savagely beaten two months ago in an upstate bar remains in a coma. The family of one of the men accused in the beating, who fled to Serbia, is speaking out. They claim it was the victim, Bryan Steinhauer, who threw the first punch.
In a press conference held in Belgrade Monday morning, Branka Kovacevic, fought back tears.
"When he was in jail in the U.S., he was there with the worst criminals," said Kovacevic of her son. "I raised him the right way."
Her son, 6-foot-9, 260 pound Miladin Kovacevic, was jailed for the brutal beating of fellow Binghamton student Bryan Steinhauer. He got out on $100,000 bond and somehow managed to slip out of the country to his native Serbia without a passport, an embarrassment for the U.S. State Department.
"Clearly this is a painful episode for all involved and we want to do our part to see it's resolved as quickly as possible," said State Department spokesperson Sean McCormack.
The U.S. government asked the Serbian Foreign ministry to send Kovacevic back to America to stand trial. Serbia says it wants to see the evidence to determine if they should try him instead. Kovacevic's lawyer says he will absolutely not be extradited.
That lawyer, Veselin Cerovic, says the 20-year-old basketball player is not to blame.
"There is no proof that he beat up this guy. He wasn't the only one involved in the fight," said Cerovic.
Kovacavic's father, Petar, says 5-foot-9 Steinhauer started it all by paying attention to a girlfriend of one of Kovacavic's friends.
"When they left the bar with his girl, Steinhauer followed them out and threw the first punch," said Petar.
The other two men arrested for the near-fatal beating, both Bosnian nationals, will stay in jail for now. A Broome County judge wants more information before deciding whether to set bail for 21-year-old Sanel Softic and 24-year-old Edin Dzurbur.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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