TUZI, Montenegro-Ethnic Albanian leaders in Montenegro demanded on Friday that authorities drop terrorism charges against 18 ethnic Albanians, including four U.S. citizens.

They also accused Montenegrin police of "brutality and nationalistic insults" against the small ethnic Albanian community in the country.

The group were arrested in September 2006, on the eve of a key parliamentary election in then newly independent Montenegro. Authorities say they were planning terrorist attacks aimed at creating an ethnic Albanian republic.

The trial started in May 2007. Five suspects have been released from custody, 11 are in jail while two remain at large.

The leaders demanded in a statement Friday that the authorities "close the case and drop the charges ... after 600 days of humiliating torture against the prisoners and other citizens of Malesia", the ethnic Albanian-dominated area of Montenegro.

Vaselj Sinistaj, the president of the Albanian Alternative party, told the AP that "we will request freedom for the innocent men and a trial for those who committed the crime" against them.

"This is a political process, not a fair trial", said Sinistaj.

Among those apprehended in September 2006 were three U.S. citizens, Sokol Ivanaj and cousins Kola Dedvukaj and Rrok Dedvukaj. They had lived for decades in Michigan but were on a visit to Montenegro when apprehended.

Another U.S. citizen and the alleged mastermind of the terrorist plot, Doda Ljucaj, was arrested in Vienna, Austria, later the same year.

The proceedings have drawn international criticism of Montenegro for alleged police brutality.

Montenegrin authorities have rejected the accusations. Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic said recently that "it is the utmost interest of our government that this trial is conducted in accordance with international legal standards."

Sources close to Djukanovic and within the judiciary said they expected the proceedings to end in mid-July.

The indictment against the 18 alleges that they planned to "use explosives and weapons for terrorist acts aimed at controlling ... military posts, police precincts and other important facilities" in the ethnic Albanian-populated part of the country.

Police have said they have found weapons and explosives during searches in Malesia, close to the border with Albania and Kosovo.

Ethnic Albanians make up about 6.5 percent of Montenegro's more than 600,000 people. They have in the past demanded more rights for their community, but have never resorted to violence to achieve their goals.

Katrina Dedvukaj, the sister of Rrok Dedvukaj, has said her brother was innocent. She told the Associated Press earlier this week that the trial was designed to "send a message to the Albanians to shut up."

"Montenegrin police picked Roko up in our old house, beat him in front of the kids, arrested him and made him a terrorist," she said, using a nickname for her brother.