Denis Morina, of BELGRADE?????

Charges pressed over Feb 21 riots

23 May 2008

The Prosecution is to press charges against Denis Morina who removed the metal crest of the U.S. off the country’s embassy in Belgrade during the February 21 riots. State Public Prosecutor Slobodan Radovanović approved the decision to press criminal charges against Morina, according to the prosecutor’s office. Morina is accused of defamation of a foreign state’s character. The alleged criminal act took place during the mass protests in Belgrade following Kosovo’s unilateral declaration of independence on February 21. “Morina is accused of hanging the metal plaque with the U.S. coat-of-arms, stolen during the protests in front of the embassy on February 21, 2008, above the entrance of his restaurant in Belgrade,” read a statement from the prosecution. Several foreign embassies were vandalized during the violence that occurred after the “Kosovo is Serbia” protests of February 21, while one man from Novi Sad died during an arson attack on the U.S embassy that same day. The prosecution added that Goran Rakić and Nikola Lukić from Odžaci would also be facing charges for allegedly taking down and ripping up a Croatian flag at a football match on April 25. They too will be charged for the defamation of a state or international organization’s character.