AP
Momcilo Perisic

Military officials in Belgrade freed Momcilo Perisic Saturday, along with an army officer and Mr. Perisic's bodyguard after detaining him and a U.S. diplomat he had met for dinner on Thursday. The U.S. diplomat, First Secretary John David Neighbor, was released Friday after being roughed up and held incommunicado for 15 hours.

 The incident has angered the United States, which delivered a formal complaint to the Yugoslav foreign ministry protesting the military's actions. 

Military officials claim Mr. Perisic, a former top general, gave the U.S. diplomat secret documents that could help in the U.N. prosecution of war crimes. Western officials and top Serbian leaders reject the charge, saying the Yugoslav military planted documents in the diplomat's bag after his detention. 

The incident has fueled tensions between army hard-liners, backed by Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica, and Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic and his more pro-western government. Mr. Djindjic termed the detention "a first class scandal" and said the Yugoslav military is out of control. 

Yugoslav President Kostunica defended the military's actions as "within legal limits" and said everything must be done to determine the truth.
 
 

Yugoslavia is made up of Serbia and Montenegro, and its military is one of few sectors that still functions at the federal level. The military has lost power and prestige since former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic was sent to the Hague last year to face charges of war crimes and genocide.

 (AP, Reuters, afp, CR-Bos) ## ENS/CS 

Some information for this report provided by Reuters, AP and AFP.

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