More than 2,000 loyalists of former dictator Mr Slobodan Milosevic rallied in front of the Serbian government building today to demand his release from jail, where he is being held for alleged corruption and abuse of power.
Shouting "Free Milosevic" and "It is not too late for reason," the rowdy but non-violent protesters turned out at the calling of Mr Milosevic's Socialist Party, six days after police hauled the former president off to a windowless Belgrade prison cell.
Against the backdrop of the sagging ruins of the defense ministry and army headquarters, bombed in the NATO campaign against Belgrade over Kosovo, the tiny, hard-bitten minority that still supports the fallen leader waved Yugoslav flags and made its cause heard.
They were some of the same, mostly older, supporters who had gathered outside Mr Milosevic's villa last weekend, cheering him on during his more than 30-hour standoff with the police and angrily denouncing what they see as a campaign of vengeance against the their nationalist hero.
Reformers toppled Mr Milosevic six months ago following a bloodless popular uprising against the president and his cronies, many of whom are also facing criminal probes now on abuse of power charges.
AFP