RIJEKA: PEOPLE WHO PROTESTED IN FRONT OF COURT BUILDING DISPERSE

RIJEKA, March 24 (Hina) - An estimated 450 protesters who gathered in front of the Rijeka County Court building on Monday morning as its judges declared the verdicts of Mirko Norac and other indictees from the so-called Gospic Group, dispersed around 1 pm today, the county police reported. Some protesters remained waiting with the family of Ivica Rozic, who was acquitted, until he left the court building. #L# Dressed in uniforms, members of the Alka Knights Society from Sinj left the area in front of the building some ten minutes after the verdicts were pronounced. After they were informed about the verdicts, the protesters started shouting insults about President Stjepan Mesic, Premier Ivica Racan and Interior Minister Sime Lucin, which went on for about an hour. There were no serious incidents. The door to the court building was secured by special police units and on two occasions protesters hurled a bottle and a lighter towards reporters who were waiting at the door. The abuse of reporters remained at the verbal level. After they left the street in front of the court building, some 40 protesters lay down at a nearby junction blocking traffic. The police who arrived at the site did not intervene, so after some 20 minutes the protesters walked away. Most protesters arrived in Rijeka by buses from Cetina and Lika regions, and after streets were unblocked they left the town. According to the county police, there were no incidents during the protest. The atmosphere in the courtroom during the announcement of the verdict was calm. The family members of the accused, their friends and members of Homeland War associations and the Alka Knights Society did not react in any way to the verdicts and their explanations. (hina) rml sb