Key Defendant in Montenegro Coup Plot Trial Denies Charges
A retired Serbian police general denied charges Wednesday at the start of the trial of 14 people who allegedly sought to overthrow Montenegro's pro-Western government last year.
Bratislav Dikic, one of the key suspects, pleaded not guilty in a Podgorica courtroom after being accused of having led the alleged plotters.
"I have never been a member of a criminal organization and I never will," Dikic told the court. "This is a fairytale. I hope that its authors will be held accountable one day."
The 14 suspects, who risk lengthy jail terms, include pro-Russian opposition leaders and MPs Andrija Mandic and Milan Knezevic as well as two Russian nationals who are being tried in absentia.
Dikic, a fierce opponent of NATO's presence in the Balkans, denied that he had come to Montenegro with a criminal intent but to "pray for (good) health" at the Ostrog monastery.
The trial, which opened after being postponed in July, was broadcast live by all television channels in Montenegro, a former Yugoslav republic that declared independence from Serbia in 2006.
Montenegrin police arrested a group of Serbians on the eve of the October 16 general election, accusing them of planning to storm parliament and target the pro-Western Milo Djukanovic, who was then prime minister.
Authorities allege that "Russian state bodies" were involved in the conspiracy, which they say aimed at preventing Montenegro from joining NATO.
The trial continues on Thursday.
Source: Agence France Presse
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