Danish journalist held by Belgrade police

The journalist was due to interview Kostunica

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (Reuters) -- A Danish journalist covering the elections in Yugoslavia has been taken into custody by police in Belgrade.

The Danish Ritzau news agency said one of its journalists, Finn Joergensen, had been scheduled to interview Yugoslav opposition candidate Vojilsav Kostunica on Saturday.

Opinion polls suggest Kostunica could win Sunday's presidential election, unseating Slobodan Milosevic.

The agency said 44-year-old Joergensen was charged with working illegally in Yugoslavia despite having a journalist visa issued by the Yugoslav embassy in Copenhagen as well as permits obtained from the proper local authorities.

Joergensen, according to Ritzau the only Danish journalist present in Yugoslavia to report on the elections, was due to appear in court together with Canadian journalist Allen Freeman.

Diplomatic sources in Belgrade said both were likely to be expelled from Yugoslavia, adding that 20 Western journalists had been ordered on Friday to leave the country within 24 hours.

Meanwhile, two U.S. nationals working for the United Nations, arrested by police after taking a short-cut through Serbia, were released on Saturday after being held overnight.

Major Scott Slaten, a spokesman for the NATO-led peacekeeping mission KFOR, said the two were brought back to the Kosovo capital, Pristina.

Copyright 2000 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
NATO
Human Rights Watch - Yugoslavia
Ritzau news agency
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