Mrvaljević's trial continued, the witness will be heard via video link

Today, the trial of the accused Zoran Mrvaljević from Herceg Novi, suspected of being the organizer of a criminal group that was preparing the murder of fellow citizen Nemanja Zurovac, continued in the High Court in Podgorica.

In addition to Mrvaljević, Krsto Vujić, who is being tried in absentia, and Slobodan Vico and Jovan Riznić, who are charged with the criminal offense of creating a criminal organization, are also accused, while Mrvaljević is also accused of murder by incitement and drug smuggling.

The president of the special council of judges, Nada Rabrenović, said that the SDT's proposal that the witness will be heard under special conditions was adopted. As she clarified, the hearing will be conducted via video link, with special conditions for covering the image and voice.

She added that the police announced that the special status regime was extended to the witness. The hearing of the witness is planned for the next main hearing on December 14.

The defendant, Zoran Mrvaljević, told the court that the grounds for my detention expired yesterday, i.e. three years from the order of detention, and there is still no verdict. Judge Rabrenović clarified that this period applies from the moment the indictment was filed and that it expires on October 01, 10.

In the evidentiary proceedings, a part of the correspondence that was extracted from the phone of the accused Vic was read today. The defense noted and pointed out that Vico was arrested on March 27 at 14.00:XNUMX p.m., and that the time of this correspondence was an hour and a half after that. Accused Vico clarified that when he was arrested, his phone was taken away and that then Special Team officer Ivan Đoković sent messages on his behalf.

He stated that that police officer sent messages to the sister of the accused Mrvaljević.

At the trial held in March, the president of the special criminal panel, Judge Nada Rabrenović, read the decision of the Appellate Court of Montenegro, which confirmed the High Court's decision to exclude from the file the testimony of accomplice witness Milan Kankaraš, while the special prosecutor's appeal was rejected as unfounded. In the decision of the High Court, it is stated that the record of the hearing of the associate witness given before the special prosecutor's office on September 24, 2020 is to be separated from the case file.

In the explanation of the decision, the Court of Appeal states that lawyer Milica Saveljić, Mrvaljević's defense lawyer, which was supported by lawyer Danilo Mićović, Riznić's defense lawyer, suggested that the testimony of Kankaraš's associate witness be excluded from the case file, as legally invalid evidence.

She stated that during his hearing, the defense attorneys of the defendants were not called, except for the defense attorney Jovan Žmukić, who is not included in the indictment.