Belgrade, Serbia-Montenegro ? Former NBA star Vlade Divac was cleared Friday of draft-dodging in his native country.

Prosecutors dropped the charges a day after Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica came to the player’s defense. Kostunica said Divac had “proven his patriotism innumerable times during his long career” in basketball.

Earlier this week, the Serbia-Montenegro army filed the charges, claiming that the 37-year-old Divac was obliged by law to join the army for the compulsory six-month military service by the age of 35. Draft-dodging carries a one-year prison sentence in Serbia.