Serbian General Denies Montenegro Putsch Charges

A former top general in Serbia's elite Gendarmerie unit, Bratislav Dikic, on Wednesday denied having backed an alleged coup plot in Montenegro during the elections in the republic last October.

Dikic told the court in Podgorica at the pre-trial session that he was a victim of the "fabricated charges" of the Montenegrin Special Prosecution.

"I'm was not preparing or attempted to commit or committed any of the things I have been charged with," Dikic told the court after being in detention for almost eight months.

The pre-trial in the alleged coup case began on Wednesday with a heavy police force securing the High Court building in Podgorica.

The court is expected to decide whether to confirm or reject the 129-page indictment against 14 people, including two leaders from the opposition Democratic Front, Andrija Mandic and Milan Knezevic.

If the court accepts the Special Prosecution's charges, Mandic and Knezevic will be tried for attempting to overthrow the government and kill the pro-Western then-prime minister, Milo Djukanovic, to prevent Montenegro from joining NATO.

Mandic and Knezevic were not present in court on Wednesday but six other defendants who are still in detention, all Serbian citizens, denied involvement in the alleged plot.

General Dikic also denied knowing, or meeting, any of the Democratic Front members, claiming that he had no communications with Mandic and Knezevic.

Defence lawyers have insisted that the indictment is unsustainable, as it is mainly based on the testimony of Sasa Sindjelic, convicted of murder in 2012 in Croatia.

One of the defence lawyers, Goran Petronijevic, called Sindjelic an "instructed witness."

On April 13, the Special Prosecutor for...