Djindjic plotters 'planned coup'

Zvezdan Jovanovic is accused of pulling the trigger

The alleged killers of Serbian PM Zoran Djindjic were attempting a coup, prosecutors told their Belgrade trial.

Thirty-six people are charged with the murder or with gangland crimes.

Twenty-one are in court. The others - including the alleged mastermind - are being tried in their absence.

Prosecutors claim the killing was carried out by Serbian nationalists opposed to Mr Djindjic's co-operation with the war crimes tribunal, and to a threatened clampdown on gangs.

He was shot by a sniper as he got out of his car in Belgrade in March.

The defendants are protected by bullet-proof glass

The indictment, read by prosecutors on the trial's second day, said alleged mafia bosses "planned the activities of the organisation through violence over a long period of time until they could take power."

Their goal was achieving profit and power, the indictment said.

Their plans included the killing of the prime minister and other officials to create a "feeling of insecurity among citizens", it added.

The trial is being held in a specially-constructed top-security courtroom, with the defendants housed in a dock behind bulletproof glass.

The trial is being seen as a major test of the Serbian judiciary in the post-Milosevic era.

Some of the 36 defendants are former members of the elite paramilitary Red Berets unit.

'Mastermind'

The alleged mastermind, Milorad Lukovic - also known as Legija - is a former commander of the unit.

Thirteen of the defendants face charges of direct involvement in the murder.

The case involves more than 80 defence lawyers.

The alleged sniper, Zvezdan Jovanovic, is expected to testify in court early in the trial.

The murder trial started less than a week before parliamentary elections on 28 December.

The BBC's Gabriel Partos says Mr Djindjic's successors in the Democratic Party may be hoping that the case will bring them a sympathy vote.