Employment of pensioners in the Ministry of Defense special state prosecutor Lidija Mitrović it was of interest only in cases where the decision was made by a former minister Olivera Injac, not when her predecessors did Boro Vučinić, Milica Pejanović Đurišić i Predrag Boskovic.
That the employment of pensioners in the defense department was a practice, emerges from the submission submitted to the special prosecutor Mitrović at the end of August 2021 by defense attorney Olivere Injac, lawyer Velibor Marković.
In the act, which "Vijesti" had access to, the special prosecutor was required to dismiss the criminal complaint against Injac, or to check, by the same token, all similar appointments in the Ministry of Defense since August 1, 2007, but also in other state bodies.
He also wrote that the submission, in the event of a request to lift the immunity of Minister Injac, is considered a criminal complaint against all the persons he mentioned, including unknown persons.
"Of course, on the condition that he still appreciates that it could be employment or appointment with the commission of a criminal offense, which, according to the point of view of this defense attorney, cannot be discussed," the submission reads.
"Political case
Yesterday, Injac told "Vijesti" that the actions of prosecutor Mitrović confirm the political dimension of the whole case:
"And according to the evidence I have, also the personal dimension, especially bearing in mind that she never examined the allegations from the submission that... was sent to her by my lawyer. The submission lists all the specific cases that happened in the Ministry of Defense from 2007 to 2020, during the mandates of previous ministers from the Democratic Party of Socialists, who had a practice of hiring pensioners, and at the same time richly rewarding them with military-diplomatic service, high incomes, and apartments and severance pay, when they retired for the 'second' time," she said.
He claims that in all these cases the MoD budget was damaged by large sums of money:
"But, for prosecutor Mitrović, this is clearly not an abuse of official position, or she 'overlooked' it because she is inclined to protect the party interests of the DPS. The fact that the prosecutor Mitrović never investigated those cases, but that she ignored everything that was submitted to her by my defense attorney, as well as the MoD when she approached the official channel to collect documentation, which for the prosecutor is not an abuse, and my case, which is clearly not an abuse, for the plaintiff it is, it unequivocally points to political, but also personal reasons, which are behind everything".
Injac points out that the employment of a man who froze his pension is not the only case in Montenegro in recent years:
"And certainly the PIO Fund made a decision about it, for which it received an instructive legal interpretation from the line ministry, according to which the Fund was obliged to act. I believe that anyone who violated the Constitution and the law should be held accountable, but that the laws should be interpreted equally for everyone, regardless of affiliation to a certain political party."
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Complaints against Injac were filed on March 23 and April 13, 2021. One charge is that she abused her official position by hiring a military pensioner Miodrag Jokanović and by appointing an active Army officer Veljko Mališić for Secretary of State. Another problematized the choice of cadets who were sent to study abroad.
In October last year, then-Chief Special Prosecutor Milivoje Katnic he demanded that the Assembly remove the immunity of Minister Injac, after which she also spoke out, announcing that she was being falsely accused and that she had been under pressure from special prosecutor Mitrović for months:
"Who, abusing her official position in the SDT, is trying to send her son to the Military Academy in Greece, contrary to the positive internal regulations of the Ministry of Defense. Probably, the Special State Prosecutor thought that this MO, like the previous one, would fix competitions for high-ranking state and political establishment. You won't watch that movie again," she said at the time.
The SDT replied to her that it was "another unsuccessful attempt to put pressure on the work of the SDT", and that Injac told them that he would not intimidate her with a statement...
She came into the public spotlight again on December 1, when some media announced that an indictment had been filed against her, which turned out to be incorrect.
The indictment against the former Minister of Defense was not handed over to the High Court, but the proceedings before the SDT are still ongoing, the spokesperson of the SDT, the special prosecutor, explained to "Vijesti" at the time. Vukas Radonjic.
"The special prosecutor Lidija Mitrović submitted only one part of the criminal files with the indictment to the Prosecutor's Office, but the chief special prosecutor, after considering the entire files, gave the special prosecutor a reasoned written instruction for handling the specific case, for the sake of uniform application of the law. Therefore, the indictment has not been submitted to the court, but the proceedings before this prosecution are still ongoing", said Radonjić.
Due to the sending of cadets to military academies abroad, Injac was heard before the Security and Defense Committee, at the request of the then deputy Raško Konjevića (SDP).
Pension in Serbia, contract in Montenegro
Attorney Marković wrote in the submission that the establishment of the employment relationship of the suspect Jokanović and the appointment of the suspect Mališić in the Ministry of Defense, during the period when the minister was Injac, and which "in the reports he wants to present as actions of the criminal offense of abuse of official position"... - are not the only two such in that department.
"Especially when it comes to the employment of retired persons, nor in other state bodies, since it was done in the same or similar way, as a completely common practice, during the previous government".
Stating which cases are involved, he told the prosecutor that she is obliged, after receiving those data and information, to carry out checks not only in that one, but also in those other state bodies.
"At one time, a certain person who held the rank of colonel had his military service terminated at his personal request, in order to exercise his right to an early old-age pension. He was dismissed from professional service on July 31, 2007, and his last place of service was in Belgrade, Republic of Serbia. After that, he concluded a total of 10 work contracts with the Ministry of Defense of Montenegro, the first of which was only a day after the end of his service in Serbia, i.e. on August 1, 2007, and most of them were concluded after the end of the contracted period of work performance, so it is an example "The work contract for the period August 1 - 31, 2007 was filed only on December 6, 2007," claims Marković in the submission.
He also explains that on June 2, 2008, the then Minister of Defense Boro Vučnić made a decision on the admission of that person to serve in the Army of Montenegro, and that point 1 of that decision states that "the retired colonel is accepted to serve in the Croatian Army ".
"According to the current Law on the Army of Montenegro, at that time, the service of a professional military person could last up to the age of 55. According to the provisions of that Law, the minister could extend the duration of service in the army. However, although this person turned 2011 years old in 55, from 2011 to 2013 there was no decision on extension at all. Only after two years, and by the then Minister of Defense Milice Pejanovic Đurišić, his time of service in the Army was extended several times, for one year each, from 2013 to 2016, so that in that year his time of service in the Army was also extended for another year, and that by the next Minister of Defense Predrag Bošković".
"Illegal service and apartment"
The lawyer points out that that person's contract was extended even after he turned 22 on December 2017, 61, even though the new Act on Civil Service was in force, which stipulates that the service can last up to 40 years of insurance experience and 55 years of age. , and that the minister can, on the proposal of the General Staff, extend the term of service of a professional military person to a maximum of two years.
"By his decision, the then Minister Predrag Bošković extended the term of service for this person for another two years, which would mean until December 22, 2019 at the latest, when his service should have ended by force of law. However, despite this, he was in military service without any legal basis until December 30, 2020 (another year and 8 days), when he was retired again. And not only that, but at a time when there was no legal basis for this person to be in the Army, that is, while he was "illegally" in the service, the Commission for Housing Issues of the Government of Montenegro, from the former military housing fund, whose president is just now former minister Predrag Bošković, this person is granted an apartment of 35 m2 (KO Podgorica I), for a total purchase price of 4.165,00 euros".
In the submission, the lawyer states that a similar case in the Ministry of Defense also happened with a previously retired person.
"If, for the same reasons, criminal proceedings are not initiated against former defense ministers Bor Vučinić, Milica Pejanović Đurišić and Predrag Bošković, as well as against the aforementioned two persons... and on the other hand, criminal proceedings are initiated against Olivera Injac and the other suspects in this case, that will mean a selective attitude of the prosecutor's office towards citizens and a public questioning of the illegal behavior of certain special state prosecutors, as well as their prosecution for the criminal offense of abuse of office", said the lawyer of the former defense minister.
"Unclear" hearing of the minister
In the same document, the lawyer assessed that it is unclear that the SDT even heard Injac and others as suspects - instead of simply dismissing the criminal charges.
"When it comes to the suspect Jokanović, the appointed person did not meet the requirements for retirement by force of law, but was a beneficiary of the right to a pension, who terminated or froze that right, as evidenced by the decision of the PIO Fund... When regarding the suspect Mališić, it is unnecessary to comment on the groundlessness and even the frivolity of the criminal complaint, given the fact that the appointed person was only proposed by Minister Injac, and his appointment was decided by the Government, after which it only implemented that decision, which was its legal obligation ", the lawyer wrote.
Arguing that there is no obstacle to establishing working relationships with pensioners who are beneficiaries of the right to a pension, if they have not met the requirements for retirement by force of law, he pointed out that any possible different interpretations of the regulations do not give anyone the right to suspect someone of being the perpetrator of a criminal act:
"And especially not SDT, if there is no intention to knowingly violate the law. It is repeated, all under the assumption that the law was really misinterpreted, which is obviously not the case, especially since it was done in an identical way for many years, even decades, and when it comes to the Ministry of Defense during the mandate of previous ministers, specifically Vučinica and Bošković".
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