Deputy Prime Minister and coordinator of the security services Dritan Abazović said that the escape of the director of the Real Estate Administration, Dragan Kovačević, showed that "it seems that we do not have a system of state bodies that can completely carry out all activities in a professional manner."
"We would never have gotten into this situation to hold this press conference if we had institutions that fully professionally performed their duties. Mr. Kovačević, as far as I understand, managed to escape, he is already on the run, a warrant has been issued. I think that it says enough if he is innocent or not. I don't know that innocent people run away, but anything is possible. It remains to be seen if the state authorities can locate him and possibly, if in some country, return him to our legal system through the extradition system." , he told reporters today at a press conference.
Commenting on the High Court's decision not to prosecute the former mayor of Podgorica, Slavoljub Migo Stijepović, in the "Envelope" case, he said that it was a disaster.
"What the panel of the High Court did is a disaster and it is just one more reason that we have to enter into deep reforms, if we want the distribution of justice to be achieved in a quality way. As far as I am aware, and it remains to be seen, they did not even inform the SDT formally. Second, the SDT will publish the evidence they submitted to the High Court panel. If the High Court panel does not want to evaluate the evidence, if they do not see the problem here in what kind of money Mr. Stijepović received, if they do not see it as holders the highest judicial positions in the country and therefore the highest legal positions, then we are really in a big problem," he said.
Abazović pointed out that he is not "advocating for SDT in this particular case", but that he really thinks that the decision of the High Court is inappropriate.
"More evidence indicates that the procedural actions that took place in the panel of the High Court were for the column, believe it or not. And now someone will say - 'you influence the judges, you want to comment'. We will, because it is in the public interest. If can someone comment every day on the actions of the Deputy Prime Minister and others, allow me as a citizen and as someone who is the Deputy Prime Minister, that I want to comment. This is a case that brought tens of thousands of citizens to the streets, which greatly agitated the public, which had a significant impact on the perception of Montenegrin corruption in international circles. That man is still, as far as it seems to me, an employee of the president of the state. DPS has already been punished for illegal financing. The whole of Montenegro saw what was happening. The whole world saw who was interested, and if the panel of the High Court cannot see it, then it is OK at least to locate where the blame lies," he said.
Abazović added that many links are not really dedicated to law enforcement. "I think that actions should be taken in that direction and the degree of winning freedom will not go that fast, but it has started to be believed. Previously, there was no political will to do it," he said.
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