Montenegro clashes after priests arrested for lockdown violation
PODGORICA, Montenegro — Montenegro police fired tear gas on Wednesday in clashes with demonstrators protesting against the arrest of a Serbian Orthodox bishop and seven priests suspected of violating coronavirus lockdown measures by organizing a procession.
Hundreds of protesters clashed with police in the northwestern town of Niksic and several other areas after officials detained Niksic bishop Joanikije Micovic and the priests who were remanded in custody for 72 hours.
Several thousand people took part in the religious procession held Tuesday evening in Niksic in what prosecutors called a violation of health regulations to stop the spread of the virus.
After Wednesday’s arrests, Niksic police fired teargas to disperse the crowd pelting stones and bottles at them, local media reported. Several protesters were detained.
Police also resorted to teargas in the northwestern town of Pljevlja.
Two policemen were injured, and several protesters were detained there, local police said in a statement.
The Bishop and the priests are accused of “failing to comply with health regulations to combat a dangerous infectious disease”, a prosecutors’ statement said.
The eight clerics “violated the ban on public gatherings and organized a religious service in the streets of Niksic, attended by a large number of citizens”, the statement added.
If found guilty they face up to 12 years in jail.
Lockdown measures were eased this week in the Balkan nation allowing churches to hold mass again.
Believers must adhere to social distancing rules and wear face masks at the services.
But all other large public gatherings like the one held in Niksic are still not permitted.
The country of 620,000 people has 324 recorded coronavirus infections and nine deaths.
The Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC), whose seat is in Belgrade, is Montenegro’s main religious body although the country split from Serbia in 2006 after nearly 90 years.
Ties between the SPC and the authorities led by President Milo Djukanovic, who has been in power for nearly three decades, became strained after the adoption of a controversial religious freedom law in December.
The law could see a large number of monasteries held by the SPC become state property.
The SPC accuses Djukanovic of using the legislation to boost the fortunes of the independent Montenegrin Orthodox Church, which still lacks global recognition.
In Belgrade, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and the SPC head Patriarch Irinej voiced their “deep concern” over the arrests in a joint statement.
The patriarch condemned what he called the “persecution of Orthodox Church by the Montenegrin state” while Vucic said he hoped the priests would be “released as soon as possible”.
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