Milosevic's funeral to be in Belgrade, lawyer says

THE HAGUE, Mar 13 (Reuters) Slobodan Milosevic's funeral will take place in Belgrade and his son Marko will come to The Hague today or tomorrow to collect the body, the former Yugoslav president's lawyer said today.

''I have submitted a request to the government of Serbia for permission,'' Zdenko Tomanovic said, adding that the family wanted a state funeral in Belgrade.

Tomanovic told journalists he had asked the district court in Belgrade to allow Milosevic's wife Mira Markovic, who lives in Moscow, to attend the funeral in Serbia, where she faces arrest on charges of abuse of office.

However, Serbian President Boris Tadic has already said Milosevic should not have a state burial and he would not grant an amnesty to Markovic, who fled Serbia in 2003.

Milosevic's body was due to be released to the family today following an autopsy.

Tomanovic said he had asked the UN tribunal, where Milosevic was on trial for war crimes, to allow his son Marko, who also lives in Russia, to collect his father's remains.

''He will come from Moscow to The Hague as soon as possible, I believe today or tomorrow morning.'' Milosevic, 64, who suffered from a heart condition and high blood pressure, was found dead in his cell on Saturday.

His death occurred only months before a verdict was due in his trial on charges of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes arising from conflicts in Bosnia, Croatia and Kosovo in the 1990s.

REUTERS SB PM1912