Lawyer Milan Petrović said that the chief special prosecutor's free and malicious interpretation of his communication with the other defense attorneys in the case is an attempt at terrorism, evidence of Milivoj Katnić's anger and personal animosity towards the defense, the defendants and the proceedings.
The defense attorney for the two defendants in that case - Bratislava Dikić and Kristina Hristić said this after the transcripts of attorney Goran Rodić's conversations with clients and colleagues were published on the SDT's official website.
The published document also includes Rodić's communication with Petrović.
Petrović told "Vijesta" that the defenders of those accused of attempted terrorism expected various pressures from the Prosecutor's Office, but that they could not assume that the day before the start of the trial, they would be labeled and named as persons waging a special war against SDT and GST Milivoj Katnić.
"Free and malicious interpretations, sometimes humorous communications between me and my colleagues can never be called a special war and the intention to carry out any kind of obstruction or attack on the institution or integrity of the special state prosecutor's office. Our communication was directed towards the exchange of opinions and experiences, so this overly strong wording is another proof of bigotry and personal animosity towards the defense, the defendants and the proceedings," he said.
He assessed that the publication of Rodić's correspondence seriously damaged the reputation of the institution of the Special State Prosecutor's Office.
"Thus, in this proceeding, inappropriate pressure was placed on the defense and defense attorneys, and this causes great damage to the Montenegrin judicial system, creates legal uncertainty and destroys the reputation of a serious institution," said the lawyer.
Petrović explains that the defenders of those accused of attempted terrorism were denied adequate representation:
"We were exposed to the inappropriate behavior of the opposite party - the prosecution, which completely compromised our function as defense attorneys. Some of us are also exposed to personal inconvenience, by publishing our private conversations, which violated our right to protect the integrity of our personality and the function we perform".
The lawyer from Nis assessed that the SDT, by publishing the conversation, violated the right to privacy of defense counsel's mutual communication and their communication with clients.
"Our so-called right to equality of arms in the evidentiary proceedings was also violated, because certain evidence and preparation of the defense were compromised and published in the media, which put us in a subordinate position in relation to the Prosecution. We are, first of all, two equal parties in the proceedings, and by using the official portal of the State Prosecutor's Office, we were put in an unequal position," he said.
Rodić's correspondence was found in the lawyer's phone, which was confiscated by order of the SDT in the A2A case, not in the "coup d'etat" case. Despite this, Rodić's conversations with his recent client Milan Knežević, accused of attempted terrorism, were published on the website of the Prosecutor's Office.
The Bar Association assessed that procedure as unacceptable, reminding that Rodić's office was searched illegally.
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