Ethnic Albanians protest court ruling on slayings

SKOPJE, Macedonia (AP) — Police in western Macedonia have used stun grenades to disperse hundreds of protesters angry over the verdict in a murder trial.

The protests started Friday over a court verdict that imposed life sentences on six Muslim men for the murder of five Christian fishermen in an alleged plot to destabilize the country. The six men deny the charges.

In the town of Tetovo, about 600 youths hurled stones Sunday at police outside the headquarters of the ethnic Albanian Democratic Union for Integrations (DUI), a junior partner in Macedonia’s government. Police dispersed the crowd by force. Local media said two protesters were injured.

Police spokesman Ivo Kotevski said protests in the capital Skopje and the western towns of Struga, Kicevo, Gostivar and Debar were peaceful.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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