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Member urges modernization of status-of-forces agreements and U.S. pressure on Serbia in murder case
Summary
A member (identified in the transcript as Representative Nicola Lota) asked the committee to modernize status-of-forces agreements after a 2021 case in Japan and urged diplomatic pressure and a resolution (cited as H Conres 41) pressing Serbia to cooperate on the killings of three U.S. citizens.
Representative Nicola Lota (identified in the transcript as a New York lawmaker and navy veteran) told the committee the United States should modernize status-of-forces agreements so service members receive basic protections — counsel, interpreters and protection from inappropriate pretrial detention — citing the 2021 case of Navy Lieutenant Ridge Alconis in Japan as a motivating example.
"These are the compacts our United States government enters into with allied nations that host US service members," Lota said, arguing that the agreements should better protect troops while respecting host-nation sovereignty. She described Lieutenant Alconis' episode, medical findings that supported a noncriminal medical explanation, and subsequent arrest and conviction as evidence of gaps in protections.
Lota also urged action to secure accountability in the 1999 killings of three U.S. citizens the transcript identifies as the Battici brothers. She said her resolution (in the transcript, "H Conres 41") calls on Serbian authorities to cooperate with investigations and prosecute those responsible, and asked the committee to use diplomatic leverage and bipartisan congressional pressure.
No Serbian or State Department official testified in this hearing to respond to the requests; the member urged continued oversight and diplomatic engagement.
