Montenegrin police arrest 65 people at church protest

22/09/2008

PODGORICA, Montenegro -- Police announced on Sunday (September 21st) that they arrested 65 people on charges of disturbing the public order, during a protest against plans by the Montenegrin Orthodox Church to build a monastery. Protesters blocked a road near the town of Niksic to prevent the head of the church, Bishop Mihajlo, and his supporters from reaching the construction site. The protesters, followers of the Serbian Orthodox Church, threw eggs at police and the Montenegrin church followers. The Montenegrin Orthodox Church is not recognised by other Orthodox churches in the country.

In other news, Albanian police seized 2kg of heroin and arrested a woman at the Murriqan border crossing between Albania and Montenegro on Saturday. The woman, a Bosnian citizen, lives in Italy. The drugs were found in a car with Italian plates. Police are investigating the woman's possible connection to a drug trafficking ring. (Pobjeda, AP, RTS, Vesti, Kurir, Beta, Politika, BalkanWeb, Telegrafi, Start, Alsat, Makfax - 21/09/08)