143 Ethnic Albanians Guilty of Terrorism
Ignoring international appeals for their release, a Serbian court Monday convicted 143 ethnic Albanians from Kosovo on terrorism charges and sentenced them to up to 13 years in prison each.
The court in Nis, 125 miles southeast of Belgrade, ruled that the group--all from the town of Djakovica in Kosovo--took part in ethnic Albanian rebel attacks against the Serbian police and army during the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia last year.
The defendants denied the charges. Defense lawyers said they would appeal to the Supreme Court.
Kosovo is a province of Serbia, the dominant Yugoslav republic.
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