Serbian TV parades 'foreign spies'

There were no visible signs of maltreatment

Serbian state television has shown pictures of four Westerners who were arrested on Tuesday and accused of being spies and plotting acts of sabotage.

There are indications that the arrested foreigners... are specialist in conducting terrorist actions

Yugoslav army

The television showed the men sitting at a table on which foreign money, knives, lengths of wire and an Albanian map of Kosovo were spread out.

The four - two Britons and two Canadians - were arrested in the border region between Kosovo and Montenegro, Serbia's junior partner in the Yugoslav Federation.

The men were said to be in possession of various 'militray' objects

The BBC's Belgrade correspondent, Jacky Rowland, says that the government seems to be trying to stoke up anti-Western feeling to improve its chances in forthcoming elections.

On Monday, the Yugoslav authorities announced that four Dutchmen had been arrested near the Yugoslav border for allegedly planning to kill or abduct President Slobodan Milosevic.

No evidence was produced to support these charges

Foreign Office

The British Foreign Office has condemned the latest arrests.

"It is unacceptable to parade British citizens... before the world's media accused of terrorism and espionage. No evidence was produced to support these charges," said an FCO statement.

'Terrorist' accusations

The Yugoslav army named the Britons as Adrian Pragnell and John Yore, and the Canadians as Shaun Going and Liam Hall.

It said the men were armed and carrying explosives, and had no right to be in the border area.

The army said it had compiled a dossier of evidence against the four, indicating that they were specialists in buildings demolition.

And it accused them of training pro-Western forces in Montenegro to commit "terrorist actions".

Montenegro tensions

But the European security organisation, the OSCE, said the two Britons were on its staff, working as trainers with the Kosovo police; it said the two Canadians were aid workers.

Are the arrests part of President Milosevic's election campaign?

An OSCE press officer, Laura O'Mahoney, said the men had been returning from holiday in Montenegro, and insisted that they were not armed.

Police instructors "do not carry weapons," she said.

Adrian Prandnel is a detective sergeant from Hampshire, and John Yore, a constable from Cambridgeshire.

This week's flurry of arrests coincides with increased tensions in Montenegro ahead of the Yugoslav presidential and parliamentary elections scheduled for 24 September.

Correspondents say there are fears that the Yugoslav army, which is loyal to President Milosevic, may try to oust the Montenegrin Government, which is seeking more independence.

They say the major Western powers, anxious about the implications of renewed instability in the Balkans, have been ambivalent about what support they would offer to Montenegro in the event of an open breach with Serbia.