Serbia bans extremist group

Jun 2, 2011, 17:18 GMT

Belgrade - The Serbian Constitutional Court on Thursday banned an extremist nationalist group which has been involved in a series of attacks in recent years.

The court ruling on a motion to ban the 'Nacionalni Stroj' (National Storm Front), however, was more than 30 months in coming.

A state prosecutor had made the initial request for the ban, arguing that the Stroj aims to disseminate hatred on ethnic and religious grounds.

The group's leader, Goran Davidovic, nicknamed 'Fuehrer,' and several other members of the organization were convicted to up to one year in prison for an attack on a forum in Novi Sad in 2005.

On its website, Nacionali Stroj defined itself as a political and educational organization aiming to improve the racial character of Serbia.

Stroj and more than a dozen other extremist organizations have been active in violent riots against gay pride parades and political protests, such as one on Sunday following the arrest of war crime suspect Ratko Mladic.