Serbs rally to support jailed star

Ceca supporters want her to be released on bail while awaiting trial

Around 1,500 people gathered in Belgrade on Saturday to demand the release from prison of the widow of Serb warlord Arkan, who is also the country's most idolised pop star.

Svetlana Raznatovic - who goes by the stage name Ceca - was arrested in a crackdown on organised crime that came shortly after the assassination of the Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic in March.

Ceca's supporters at the rally, who could be seen carrying the singer's picture, demanded her release on bail as she awaited trial.

Ceca is charged with embezzlement and with the possession of illegal firearms.

"We all know she is unjustly held in jail. Ceca will be a hero one day like her husband," Borislav Pelevic, the leader of hardline nationalist party SSJ, told the crowd.

The SSJ was founded by Arkan and is now led by Ceca.

Crackdown

The woman whose face once adorned every magazine - and only a year ago staged a sell-out birthday concert in Belgrade in front of 100,000 people - spent her 30th birthday in prison on Saturday.

The authorities seem unlikely to release her soon, says the BBC's Matthew Price in Belgrade.

They have said they fear any release could have a negative influence on witnesses appearing at her trial.

About 11,000 people were arrested as the authorities cracked down on organised crime and corruption following the killing of Mr Djindjic.

Several hundred are still in custody and Belgrade's prisons are overflowing.

The man believed by many to be the mastermind behind the assassination is still on the run, our correspondent says.

Ceca's arrest showed how far the authorities were prepared to go in trying to tackle organised crime, he says.

Her lawyer says her detention is politically motivated, and that she had nothing to do with Mr Djindjic's assassination.