Working group to establish circumstances of embassy burning

BELGRADE - Serbian Interior Minister Nebojsa Stefanovic set up the Working group tasked with establishing the exact circumstances concerning the incidents in which the Embassies of the U.S. and Germany were burnt in Belgrade after the protest against the declaration of Kosovo-Metohija independence unilaterally declared by ethnic Albanians in the southern Serbian province in February 2008.

According to a release issued by Stefanovic's cabinet, the minister said that he adopted the decision to constitute the Working group which will thoroughly look into the circumstances of the incident and identify the organisers and perpetrators who set on fire the Embassies of the U.S. and the Federal Republic of Germany.

The aim of the Working group is to identify all individuals involved in the incident and clarify the circumstances of the violent act so that the organisers and attackers responsible for the fire in the two Embassies could be legally prosecuted.

The trial against 12 suspects for the burning of the Embassies in Belgrade on February 21, 2008 is underway before the Belgrade High Court. The incident took place following a protest organised under the motto 'Kosovo is Serbia' which gathered around 600,000 people from all parts of the country.

The High Prosecutor's Office raised the indictment on July 10, 2012, and all defendants were released pending trial as the detention sentence pronounced upon their arrest was suspended.

The indictees are charged with the criminal act of causing general danger.

The indictment charges the 12 individuals with having organised the march to the U.S. Embassy in Knez Milos Street, downtown Belgrade, on February 21, 2008, some time around 6.30 p.m. Upon arrival at the...

Continue reading on: