Bosnian Serb Protesters Undeterred by Police Crackdown

Hundreds of Bosnian Serbs packed the courtyard of a Banja Luka church on Tuesday to demand the release of Davor Dragicevic, arrested in the morning after leading nine months of protests over the death of his 21-year-old son.

Dragicevic was taken into custody for failing to respond to a summons to a court hearing over charges of "endangering security" during a protest in front of the parliament in Bosnia's mainly Serb entity, Republika Srpska, on December 17.

He spent the day in custody and his transfer to the District Attorney was expected in the evening.

Dragicevic's fight to find out what happened to his son, David, has inspired daily protests in Banja Luka since March, when David was found dead in a shallow river in the city.

Police say he drowned, but conflicting pathology reports and inconsistencies in police statements have fuelled anger over what many Bosnian Serbs see as police incompetence and indifference.

David's parents say they believe their son was murdered and have alleged a cover-up, something authorities have vehemently denied.

Hours after arresting Dragicevic, police cordoned off Krajina Square, site of the daily protests and now popularly renamed 'David's Square'. Municipal workers removed an improvised shrine of flowers, candles and tributes to the dead 21-year-old.

Demonstrators moved across the street to the Petar Kocic Park, but were again pushed out by police. They settled in the courtyard of the nearby Orthodox Church of Christ the Saviour in the centre of Banja Luka.

Opposition MPs arrested

Hundreds of people turned out in the Bosnian capital, Sarajevo, in solidarity. By the evening in Banja Luka, the protesters had begun to disperse, as...