Serbia charges 12 for setting fire to US embassy

Published November 20, 2014

Serbia's state prosecutor has charged 12 people for setting fire to the U.S. embassy during riots against Kosovo's independence in 2008.

Vladimir Djordjevic, a senior official at the prosecutor's office, says the group are charged with committing "grave acts against general security" and violent behavior.

Djordjevic said that if convicted they face up to 12 years in prison each.

Hundreds of extremists stormed the embassy on Feb. 21, 2008, angry over Washington's support for the independence of Kosovo -- a former province that most Serbs view as a national heartland.

The attackers, mostly soccer hooligans, threw stones and flares at the embassy building. One person died in the rioting.

A trial is ongoing against another suspect also charged in the attack that caused tensions in U.S.-Serbia relations at the time.

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