A Bosnian court has sentenced
an Italian citizen to one year in prison after he confessed to being
part of a group that extorted money from foreigners escorting pilgrims
to the Medjugorje shrine, reports AP.The court imposed the sentence after finding Luca Cobre, the manager of a hotel in Medjugorje, guilty of organised crime.
Medjugorje is a small village where a shrine marks the apparitions of the Virgin Mary that six young people saw in 1981.
The extortion group allegedly threatened to close Italian tourist agencies or non-governmental organisations in Medjugorje and expel their owners if they did not pay.
Its members also allegedly tried to force pilgrimage tour operators to rent their hotels.