December 01, 2006 12:46 PM

BELGRADE, Serbia-The grandson of Serbia's World War II royalist guerrilla leader, who was executed as a traitor by the postwar communist authorities, lodged an official demand Friday for Dragoljub Mihailovic's legal and political rehabilitation.

Mihailovic, an officer of the pre-1941 Yugoslav Royal Army and the commander of the first resistance movement in the Balkans, was killed in 1946 following a hasty trial when he was found guilty of collaborating with the Nazi occupiers.

Mihailovic was executed at a secret location, which still remains unknown.

Mihailovic's "chetnik" movement was loyal to the exiled monarchs of the Karadjordjevic dynasty who fled the country as the Nazis invaded. His troops had fought the Communists as well as the Nazis.

The Allies initially supported Mihailovic and his followers, but later shifted their support to the Communists, who by 1945 had seized power and abolished the monarchy, putting Mihailovic on trial.

In 1948, U.S. President Harry Truman posthumously awarded Mihailovic the Legion of Merit award for his key role in rescuing hundreds of U.S. airmen downed by the Nazis over Serbia.

The medal was stored for decades in the U.S. National Archives and presented only last year to Mihailovic's daughter, Gordana, by a visiting delegation of veteran U.S. pilots.

Mihailovic's grandson, Vojislav Mihailovic, said in the rehabilitation demand submitted to the Belgrade District Court, that his grandfather did not have the right to proper defense and a fair trial.

The move became possible after the parliament recently passed a law allowing for relatives of those prosecuted by the Communists to seek recognition of their rights and reversal of politically-motivated verdicts. The law was part of efforts at reconciliation between royalists and communists.

It was not immediately clear when the court could rule on Mihailovic.