B92/AFP, November 01, 2002
UN policeman in Kosovo admits to murder of woman
A UN police officer confessed to a Kosovo court today that he shot and killed his interpreter, a UN official said.
The Egyptian police officer, Sherif Abd Elaziz, 33, said the argument with his ethnic-Albanian interpreter led to him shooting the 23-year-old woman and then inflicting a wound to himself, Andrea Angeli, spokesman for the UN mission in Kosovo told AFP.
"During the last day of the trial, the suspect confessed to the crime," Angeli said.
The incident happened in January in the town of Pec, about 90 kilometres west of the provincial capital Pristina.
Vlora Berbati was found with gunshot injuries in Elaziz's apartment and later died of her injuries. It was unclear whether they were involved in a relationship.
Following the confession, the court adjourned the trial until November 12 to allow the defense and prosecution to redraft their closing presentations, Angeli said.
Elaziz faces between 10 to 40 years of prison.
He is the first international official in Kosovo to be tried for serious crimes.
Some 4,000 international policemen serve alongside NATO-led peacekeepers in the troubled Yugoslav province.
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