BANJA LUKA: SERBS ON TRIAL FOR INCIDENTS DURING MOSQUE BUILDING

BANJA LUKA, Sept 2 (Hina) - The trial against 16 Serbs indicted for stirring up unrest last May and hindering the setting of the foundation stone for the construction of the Ferhadija mosque in Banja Luka (Bosnian Serb entity) which Serb troops destroyed during the war in Bosnia, began at the Banja Luka Municipal Court on Monday. #L# On May 7 of last year when the foundation stone for the construction of the new mosque was to be placed, a group of Bosnian Serb extremists set on fire buses in which Bosniaks had been transported to the location and threw stones at the Bosniaks, as a consequence of which one was killed. The 16 Serbs are being tried in line with the Republika Srpska Penal Code. According to the code, presiding judge Mirela Jagodic said, the sixteen could receive prison sentences of one to five years if found guilty. (hina) lml sb