Serbian president rejects Slovenia verdict against church patriarch

Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić has condemned a Slovenian court for giving the head of the Serbian Orthodox Church a four-month suspended prison sentence.

The church called the ruling scandalous, but did not say what Patriarch Porfirije was convicted of. In March, Slovenia's public broadcaster reported that prosecutors in Ljubljana had charged him with harassing a priest at work.

Mr Vučić said the patriarch was condemned for something he never did. He said the ruling is an attack on the church, which he called a pillar of Serbian society.

The president claimed the verdict would only turn the church leader into a martyr and strengthen his public support.

Patriarch Porfirije led the church in Slovenia and Croatia from 2014 until 2021, when he was elected to his current role.