Montenegro jails 14 over alleged pro-Russia coup plot
Source: Agence France-Presse
Montenegro jails 14 over alleged pro-Russia coup plot
Agence France-Presse in Podgorica
Thu 9 May 2019 10.32 BST Last modified on Thu 9 May 2019 10.45 BST
A court in Montenegro has handed jail sentences to 14 people, including two opposition politicians, over an alleged plot to overthrow the government with Russian help in 2016.
The pro-Russia opposition leaders Andrija Mandić and Milan Kneević were given five years in prison for being part of a criminal organisation whose aim, the judge said, was to prevent Montenegro from joining Nato.
Two Russian men who prosecutors said were intelligence officers were handed the heaviest sentences, of 12 and 15 years, in absentia. Several Serbs were also convicted, including a former police general and an anti-Nato activist.
Moscow has denied any involvement in the plot.
Before the verdict, Montenegros opposition Democratic Front said a conviction of its leaders would risk irremediably destabilising the country.
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Read more:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/may/09/montenegro-convicts-pro-russia-politicians-of-coup-plot