3 US citizens ordered back to prison in Montenegro after being found guilty of plotting coup

PODGORICA, Montenegro, Aug 23 – A Montenegrin court last week ordered three U.S. citizens, and seven other ethnic Albanians, back to prison after convicting them of plotting a rebellion to establish an Albanian autonomous region within the Adriatic country.
The men were found guilty earlier this month of planning attacks on state institutions but had been temporarily freed while they remained in Montenegro. Their lawyers have said they would appeal their convictions.
“The council of the Higher Court decided to return the group of 10 men back to prison because of possibility of their escape,” said a court statement.
Three U.S. citizens, cousins Rrok and Kola Dedvukaj and Sokol Ivanaj, all from Michigan, were arrested overnight last week, police said. Six other Montenegrin Albanians were also arrested, while one is still at large, they added.
“The police came to our house, saying a judge ordered them to take my brother back to prison,” Katrina Dedvukaj, the sister of Rrok Dedvukaj, said. “I don’t understand. What have my brother and the other guys done wrong to this country?”
A Montenegrin court ruled earlier this month that the group had gathered weapons and prepared for a rebellion, under orders from their leader, Doda Ljucaj, also a Michigan resident. They were convicted of committing acts in violation of the security of Montenegro and sentenced to prison terms ranging from three months to six-and-a-half years. All of the defendants have denied involvement in a rebellion during the trial.
Rrok and Kola Dedvukaj each received prison terms of three years. However, only Ljucaj remained in custody.
The cousins and Ivanaj were arrested in September 2006, on the eve of a general election in Montenegro and just a few months after the country broke away from a union with much larger Serbia. Ljucaj was arrested in Vienna, Austria, later in 2006.
(Tirana Times Staff)