Hundreds of Serbs have rallied against plans by the Serbian Orthodox Church and nationalist leaders to move the ashes of scientist Nikola Tesla from his museum in Belgrade to the country's biggest church.

Holding banners that read Leave Tesla Alone, the protesters blocked traffic yesterday in front of the museum, where the urn bearing his remains has been on display for six decades. Tesla, an ethnic Serb born in Croatia, was a pioneer in electricity, wireless communication and radio, and a rival of Thomas Edison. He died in New York in 1943.