| By CATHERINE WILSON - Associated Press Writer
MIAMI (AP) -- A man serving a two-year jail term for stalking Martina Hingis asked a judge Friday to free him after learning that the prosecutor is now dating the tennis star.
``Whoever thought this would develop in this case?'' defense attorney Frank Abrams said. ``This calls into question the integrity of the entire judicial process.''
Abrams asked the trial judge to erase Dubravko Rajcevic's sentence and conviction and order his prosecutors and Hingis, the world's top-ranked women's player, to explain themselves. Rajcevic said he considers himself the victim of a ``dirty plot.''
A call to Calkin, who flew to Switzerland for one tournament and plans to attend Wimbledon, was forwarded to Ed Griffith, spokesman for the state attorney's office. Asked if he felt the conviction or sentence were in danger of being overturned, Griffith said, ``I see no reason for it.''
Calkin, 31, notified his office that he had begun a personal relationship with the 20-year-old Hingis the weekend after Rajcevic's sentencing in April. The relationship became public last week in a newspaper story.
Abrams said he questions events before and during the trial, including Calkin's decision to keep the case when he was transferred to a different section of his office.
Writing in broken English to the judge, Rajcevic, 46, accused the prosecutor of showing hatred, arrogance and animosity toward him and misusing his position for personal reasons.
Rajcevic, who was jailed for a year before trial, asked the judge to end ``my personal and moral suffering'' and set him free.
Hingis was Calkin's star witness in Rajcevic's three-day trial. He was convicted of misdemeanor stalking and trespassing for appearing at a Miami-area tournament last year after police warned him to stay away.
Rajcevic, a Croatian-born naval architect and Australian citizen, never overtly threatened Hingis, but she said his love letters and persistent attempts to contact her were threatening. |