Businessman Duško Knežević is on trial in London regarding Montenegro's request for his extradition.
As the legal team of the Atlas Group announced, the hearing before the court in London was held three years after the submission of Montenegro's request to Great Britain for the extradition of Knežević, and at the initiative of the then Special State Prosecutor Milivoj Katnić and former Minister of Justice Zoran Pažin.
"Numerous Knežević's lawyers and barristers presented evidence that speaks in support of the claim that in case of extradition, Knežević will not have the right to a fair trial, as well as that his personal safety will be threatened, due to the political execution of Milo Đukanović and the then regime, which still has a large influence on the prosecution and the entire judiciary, as well as on the underground in Montenegro," the announcement states.
Among the witnesses proposed are, among others, Neven Anđelić, Nebojša Šarkić, Nikola Kovačević, Dušan Radosavljević, Radovan Grbović...
During his testimony on June 30, as announced by the Legal Team of the Atlas Group, Grbović said that Knežević "became the target of a politically motivated criminal prosecution after the conflict with the President of the State, Milo Đukanović."
"The Montenegrin judicial system is prone to political influence," said Grbovic, in a statement given via video link.
The legal team of Atlas Group announced that Grbović "referred to the 2019 conviction of two opposition party leaders Andija Mandić and Milan Knežević and others for the attempted coup d'état in 2016".
"When you become Đukanović's enemy, then the entire state system will engage in discrediting and disqualifying those persons from politics and life in Montenegro," said Grbović.
He added that although the legal and regulatory framework of Montenegro is close to the European one, "the implementation and application of those laws is very questionable".
The legal team of the Atlas Group announced that on July 1, the president of the Movement for Change party Nebojša Medojević and barrister Toby Cadman testified, and that Mandić and Knežević also gave written statements.
"Medojević, in his written statement submitted to the court, stated, among other things, that "Montenegro is a mafia state", and he spoke about the connection between the mafia and the regime of Milo Đukanović, as well as details about the staged coup. The lawyers representing Montenegro did not question much Medojevic to these circumstances, they already accepted his short written statement, and they asked him questions related to George Soros and the deep state".
The press release states that "barrister Toby Cadman testified before the court in London about the "coup d'état" affair".
"And the participation of the Minister of Justice Zoran Pažin, then SDT Milivoj Katnić and his deputy Saša Čađenović, in fabricating evidence and asking Joseph Assad to falsely accuse 12 people from the Presidency of the Democratic Front of conspiring to on the day of the parliamentary elections in October 2016. overthrew the Montenegrin government and on that occasion sent their pictures and privately communicated with Toby Cadman, to influence Jozef Assad to confirm that the aforementioned people participated in the coup d'état. Namely, Toby Cadman, the barrister who represented Duško Knežević at the beginning of this procedure before in the court in London and before Interpol, he proved the political background of issuing a warrant for Knežević, which removed the name of Duško Knežević from the red Interpol warrant, he was also the lawyer of Joseph Assad in the proceedings before the Montenegrin authorities. He testified about how he met in Podgorica with the then minister Justice Zoran Pažin and Special State Prosecutor Milivoj Katnić, when he was told that they did not intend to prosecute Mr. Assad, but that the idea was for him to be a witness in the coup attempt. During subsequent meetings, various pressures were put on Mr. Assad to agree to testify. The pressure went so far that he was threatened with criminal proceedings against his wife if she did not agree to testify. After these testimonies, the court in London expressed interest in the "coup d'état" and requested additional evidence and notes from Cadman related to the coup d'état, and the next hearing is scheduled for September 30, when Cadman's hearing will continue. The first-instance verdict is expected next year, concludes the press release of the Legal Team of the Atlas Group
Bonus video:
