Proceedings against the MUP officer who ordered the arrest of MANS activists

Disciplinary proceedings will be initiated against Milan Radusinović, assistant head of the Department for Facilities Security, because by ordering the arrest of activists of the Network for the Affirmation of the Non-Governmental Sector (MANS) in front of the Assembly, he abused his official powers and position and exceeded his powers.

This was determined by the Internal Control of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, which was ordered by Minister Raško Konjević immediately after the arrest of MANS activists on June 21 of this year who spilled paint on the plateau in front of the Parliament building as a sign of protest against the VAT increase.

In the response submitted by the MUP to Action for Human Rights, which demanded that an internal control be carried out regarding the case, it is stated that when it comes to other police officers who actually carried out the act of depriving a person of their liberty and made official notes about it, there is no responsibility.

"Internal control assessed that there is no basis for determining their responsibility because the police powers in the case in question were applied under the conditions established in Article 24 paragraph 4 point 2 of the Law on Internal Affairs, i.e. by order of a superior officer," states the answer signed by the minister's adviser for media relations, Mirjana Bošković. It is added that the Internal Control of the Police stated in its report that, based on the established factual situation and the evidence collected during the control, it can be indisputably concluded that the police officer MR - assistant manager of the Facility Security Group, in this particular case, undertaking official measures and actions according to the activities of the NGO MANS, exceeded police powers.

The police detain Vuk Maraš (Photo: Savo Prelevic)

"In the way that, without the existence of a legal basis, he deprived the person VM of his liberty and ordered the police officers NV, PV, OJ and Ž.B to deprive the persons V.Ć, IB, MB, BD and JR of their liberty, as a result of which there is a well-founded suspicion that committed a serious breach of official duty from Article 83 paragraph 1 point 4 of the Law on Civil Servants and State Employees - abuse of position or exceeding authority in the service. Accordingly, the Internal Control proposed that the report on the performed checks, with the case files prepared in the internal control procedure, submit for further proceedings to the head of the Facility Security Group in order to initiate disciplinary proceedings against the appointed police officer," states the letter to HRA editor Tei Gorjanc Prelevic.

In the MUP's response to HRA's request, the claim of MANS lawyer Veselin Radulović is denied that immediately after arriving at the CB Podgorica building, he was not allowed to make contact with persons deprived of liberty and that on that occasion he waited at the application form for about an hour.

Performance of MANS in front of the Assembly of Montenegro (Photo: Savo Prelević)

"During the internal control procedure, it was determined, by looking at the video surveillance cameras, that the total time from his arrival at the registration desk of CB Podgorica to his reception at RR - the commander of the police station for JRM was 24 minutes. The fact that the lawyer Radulović stated in the given statement, the fact that none of the police officers took any official action against the persons deprived of their liberty, prior to his contact with them, indicates that the persons deprived of their liberty were not deprived of their rights established by law," the letter states. It is added that the report on the control of the case files will be "referred to further proceedings in order to initiate disciplinary proceedings against the appointed official and determine his disciplinary responsibility".

In Konjević's open letter, MANS is to determine immediately and without delay who is specifically responsible for the illegal actions of members of the Police Administration in the case of the arrest of MANS employees, or to personally take responsibility for the brutal violation of our basic human rights.

Gallery