Slobodan Milosevic is in a jail cell, and his wife and son have fled to Russia. But their political allies are back in power in their hometown — once dubbed "the Forbidden City" by the victims of their autocratic rule.

The return last week of Milosevic's Socialist Party and its leftist allies to power in the central Serbian town of Pozarevac — the first comeback by his party after the former Yugoslav president's ouster in 2000 — has triggered alarm bells among the pro-democracy leaders who toppled him.

Milosevic himself, who faces life in prison if convicted by The Hague-based U.N. war crimes tribunal of genocide or crimes against humanity, is unlikely ever to return.

But his loyalists' return to power in local elections in Pozarevac serves as a dramatic warning to the squabbling pro-Western parties in Serbia-Montenegro, the successor state to Yugoslavia, that Milosevic supporters could regain national influence as well.

"Pozarevac was a key symbol of Milosevic's dictatorship and repression," said Momcilo Veljkovic, a local leader of Otpor, or Resistance — a youth group that played a key role in toppling the former president in a popular revolt.

"When people see Milosevic's allies again on top in Pozarevac, it sends a dangerous signal that the past is coming back," Veljkovic said.

After a repeat election for four seats in the 68-seat city assembly, the Socialists and their allies secured 37 seats, a victory Veljkovic attributes to squabbling among the pro-Western bloc that defeated Milosevic in 2000 elections.

Since taking over in Serbia, the unity of the 18-party Democratic Opposition of Serbia coalition has steadily unraveled and now has only the slightest majority over Socialists and other nationalist parties in the 250-seat Serbian parliament.

Milosevic's allies and nationalists are demanding new elections, something the pro-democrats are barely managing to resist.

The worst blow for the pro-Western government came in March, when Serbia's first democratic prime minister, Zoran Djindjic, was assassinated in downtown Belgrade.

But the leadership has also suffered a loss of credibility because of a series of corruption and political scandals and its inability to dramatically improve living standards in an economy ruined by Milosevic's mismanagement in the 1990s.

"Instead of taking care of the economy and reforms, the ruling coalition is busy with internal bickering," said Zoran Milovanovic, another Otpor activist in Pozarevac.

Milovanovic was one of several victims of repression by Milosevic's family when they ruled Pozarevac. The family's opponents dubbed the town Serbia's "Forbidden City," a reference to China's Imperial Palace in Beijing.

Milosevic's son, Marko, was charged in 2001 with threatening Milovanovic with a power saw and demanding that he reveal who was financing the Otpor movement and divulge its members.

The incident was part of intense violence against Milosevic's opponents in the months before his ouster and subsequent extradition to the U.N. tribunal, where he is standing trial for alleged crimes committed during the Balkan wars of the 1990s.

Marko Milosevic fled to Russia shortly after his father lost power. He has failed to appear at several court hearings to answer charges that he and six friends allegedly abducted and threatened to kill Milovanovic.

According to a court indictment, Marko Milosevic and his friends "threatened to cut Milovanovic into pieces" if he refused to reveal the names of other members of Otpor in Pozarevac.

"I became a mascot of the resistance against Milosevic and his family," said Milovanovic, 20, who remains visibly shaken by his ordeal.

"But instead of paying me back, the new authorities could not even offer me a job," he said. "What happened to me epitomizes the feeling of hopelessness in the rest of Serbia. What did we fight for?"

Marko Milosevic, known as "The Commander" by his supporters, ran several businesses in the town during Milosevic's rule. They included Bambyland — a local version of Disneyland — and Madonna (news - web sites), the largest discotheque in the Balkans.

Mirjana Markovic, Milosevic's influential, neo-communist wife and the power behind the scenes during his rule, fled to Russia shortly before Djindjic's assassination in March. She is wanted by authorities who suspect she may have been behind the murders of other political opponents.

Pozarevac's new Socialist mayor, Dusko Vujcic, said Milosevic has not contributed much to the party's return to power "because he has other more important things on his mind in The Hague."

But Vujcic says the party remains loyal to Milosevic.

"For the Socialists, Milosevic remains our leader," he said.

Milosevic's mansion in downtown Pozarevac, surrounded by high walls and a watchtower manned by private security guards, stands in stark contrast to the drab, communist-era apartment blocs nearby.

The compound, engulfed by a rich green park, appears ready to welcome its old tenants back at any time.

"The way things are going in this country, it would be no surprise that at least some of the Milosevics return here — in style and with a vengeance," Veljkovic, the Otpor leader, said with a bitter grin.

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