At the repeated trial, the former mayor of Podgorica, Miomir Mugoša, pleaded not guilty and did not feel guilty.
Previously, in early February, the Appellate Court of Montenegro accepted the appeal of the Special State Prosecutor's Office and annulled the verdict of the High Court in Podgorica, which acquitted Miomir Mugoša of the charges.
Lawyer Mitar Mugoša proposed to hear the witnesses, which the court accepted.
The continuation of the trial is scheduled for June 5.
The judicial panel is chaired by judge Vesna Kovačević.
He was previously acquitted of damaging the budget of the Capital City
Mugoša was acquitted of having committed the criminal offense of abuse of official position under Article 416 paragraph 3 in relation to paragraph 1 of the Criminal Code of Montenegro for the reason that, according to the assessment of the first-instance High Court, it was not proven that he had committed the criminal offense for which he was accused.
With that verdict, the former mayor was acquitted of the charge that in the case of the sale of the city construction company DOO "Carine", he damaged the budget of the capital city in the amount of 6,7 million euros, and "Carine" obtained a benefit in the same amount.
"Deciding on the appeal of the Special State Prosecutor's Office of Montenegro and ex officio, the panel of the Appellate Court determined that in the first-instance proceedings there were significant violations of the provisions of the criminal procedure, for which reasons the first-instance verdict had to be annulled. According to the assessment of the Appellate Court, the first-instance court and in the judgment itself committed significant violations of the provisions of the criminal procedure, which consists in the fact that the first-instance judgment did not state the reasons for decisive facts. and a judgment based on the law," the Appellate Court said in a statement.
Explaining her acquittal decision, judge Vesna Pean said, among other things, that the accusation remained in doubt, i.e. "in dubio pro reo", and that the court did not find evidence that Miomir Mugoša influenced the municipal officials to sell the land at a price of 165 euros per square meter.
The court found that the decision on the transfer of property rights to the company "Customs" was preceded by a procedure carried out by the officials of the Capital City, and that all the officials who participated in making this decision claimed during their testimony before the court that they acted in accordance with the law as and that Miomir Mugoša never influenced them to make a decision that was not in their opinion.
According to the indictment, the defendant Mugoša, as mayor, used his official position and, without carrying out the public procurement procedure, made a decision on the transfer of the right to use the city's construction land to the company "Carine", thus committing the criminal offense of abuse of official position.
The indictment states that Mugoša "from July 25, 2007 to May 8, 2012, as an official and public functionary - mayor, by exploiting his official position and exceeding his official authority, obtained benefits for others and caused damage to the Capital City." .
"Acting contrary to the official interests and the interests of the capital city, namely the Law on Construction Land, contrary to the decision of the Municipal Assembly, he made a decision on August 30, 2007 to transfer the right to the land to the company "Carine" for 165 euros per square meter, by direct agreement," he writes. in the indictment.
In this way, it is added, he obtained a benefit of 6.723.194 euros for "Customs", and damage in the same amount to the Municipality of Podgorica.
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