The victims are still waiting for justice

Due to war crimes committed in the territory of the former Yugoslavia during the wars of the 11s, in almost three decades, Montenegro has convicted only XNUMX persons, which is less than a third of the accused.

"In Montenegro, even after 26 years, three people have not been brought to justice - because they are inaccessible to its judicial authorities. For seven years, the Republic of Serbia has not extradited to Montenegro one of those convicted in the "Klapuh" case, Zoran Vuković, while Bosnia and Herzegovina is not interested in prosecuting the other two, Radomir Kovač and Zoran Simović.

This is written in the report Strategy for the Investigation of War Crimes, which was presented yesterday by the non-governmental organization Action for Human Rights (HRA).

Director of HRA, Tea Gorjanc Prelevic, announced that indictments failed in three cases:

"Because all the defendants were acquitted, although the victims of those crimes are indisputable and deserve justice".

She also said that of the five convicted in one case, only one served a prison sentence, and that the crimes on the Dubrovnik battlefield were not investigated, as were the so-called weekend warriors:

"Despite the explicit recommendations of the European expert from 2014".

Gorjanc Prelevic recalled that the Strategy for the Investigation of War Crimes from 2015 obliged the State Prosecutor's Office to fight impunity more effectively. However, from then until now, the SDT has prosecuted only two people, based on the cases transferred by the Prosecutor's Office of the Republic of Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. One of those cases was processed in the last year and a half".

The report states that to date no proceedings have been initiated using the criminal law institutes of command responsibility, complicity, incitement or assistance, despite continuous criticism from the European Commission over nine years and obligations from the Strategy.

Presenting the Strategy, Gorjanc Prelevic said that the expected proactive approach was not demonstrated.

"In the last year and a half, communication with the public of the SDT about work on war crimes cases has not improved, but at least the obligation of periodic reporting by the VDT has been consistently respected, unlike the previous period," she said.

The director of the HRA said that the HRA is aware that in 2022 the SDT initiated several extremely demanding cases of corruption and organized crime, but also warned that one should not lose sight of the obligation to effectively prosecute war crimes:

"Which requires proactive action".

"light criminal prosecution for war crimes does not expire, the passage of time and the death of witnesses, victims and perpetrators makes it difficult and/or permanently impossible to achieve justice," she said.

"Bukovica" and "Deportation"

Gorjanc Prelević pointed out that the possibility of restarting the proceedings was not thoroughly investigated, in the context of previously processed cases, although there is a suspicion that in the cases of "Bukovica" and "Deportations" there was a deliberate wrong qualification, that is, wrong application of the law.

She reminds that the expert of the European Commission strongly criticized the processing of those cases back in 2014, and that the European Commission, in its reports, emphasized for nine consecutive years that the judgments handed down in war crimes cases were not in accordance with international humanitarian law and contained legal errors. .

"There is no information that the SDT took measures to identify some other suspects in old cases, taking into account all models of criminal responsibility... However, in the case of "Bukovica" the data submitted by the International Residual Mechanism is being examined, and according to the request of the District Public At the prosecutor's office in Trebinje, a case was formed in which criminal prosecution against several Montenegrin citizens is being considered," the report says.

The HRA recommended to the SDT that unsuccessfully prosecuted cases such as those two and the "Kaluđerski laz" be reviewed with the expert assistance of experts in international humated law and that they thoroughly consider the initiation of new proceedings.

"Both in relation to the prosecuted and to others, bearing in mind all possible forms of criminal responsibility".

In addition, the recommendations include that they review the dismissal of all criminal charges related to war crimes, but also respond to the criminal charge filed seven and a half years ago by a lawyer. Bigger Muric, which is related to the case of the Monk's lie.

The NGO announced that none of the recommendations from the previous report were implemented from June 2021 to the end of 2022.

Acting Supreme State Prosecutor, Maja Jovanovic, she said that the report on the implementation of the strategy for war crimes helped them to see from different angles within the state prosecutor's organization, in which segments they could contribute to a better implementation of the current strategy.

"I appreciate that in the report you stated the fact that the SDT, with its existing limited capacities, in the previous period initiated several extremely demanding cases of corruption and organized crime. At the same time, we are aware that, despite this, we must not lose sight of the obligation to prosecute war crimes, which also requires proactive action. It is a fact that criminal prosecution for war crimes does not expire, but it is also a fact that the passage of time and life circumstances that relate to the death of witnesses, victims or perpetrators make it difficult, and can even contribute to the impossibility of achieving justice," said Jovanović at conference.

Jovanović: How long the current state of affairs will last depends on the MPs

Acting Supreme State Prosecutor Maja Jovanović announced yesterday that it depends on the MPs in the Montenegrin Parliament whether the mandate of the acting prosecutor will last 10 days, six months or years.

Jovanović said that she gets the impression that some of the public are not interpreting the initiative of the Prosecutor's Council addressed to the Parliament and the Government in the right way, and because of this, she points out that the intention of the TS was not to prolong the current situation indefinitely with that initiative.

"But to ensure the continuity of the functioning of the institution until the election of the supreme state prosecutor. As you know, since I was appointed as acting official, I have been constantly advocating for the election of the supreme state prosecutor for a full term, and in this regard there is no difference in our views and those of our international partners. Nor in less demanding areas, results cannot be achieved with six-month changes, and especially not if they cause insecurity in the institution. This is precisely why TS handed over the initiative, in order to ensure continuity and stability in work through this mechanism, until the Assembly elects the VDT , and it depends on the member of parliament whether the acting mandate will last 10 days, six months or years," she said.

She added that she hopes that the Parliament will understand such a position of the TS, expressed through the initiative to further strengthen the institution of the prosecution:

"And therefore for the continuation of the reforms we started".

Listened to requests, formed teams

From June 2021 to December 2022, three new cases of war crimes were established, one of which was archived, and in one of which an indictment was brought. At the end of last year, there were seven cases in the investigation phase, and in that time, only one defendant and one witness - a victim of a war crime - were heard.

According to the HRA report, in the same period, 14 requests for international legal assistance from the countries of the region were processed - in eight, the required data was collected, four suspects were heard, and in the other two, two people were heard as witnesses.

The SDT sent nine requests to the prosecutor's offices in the region, and three prosecutor-police teams were formed for war crimes cases.