Zoran Gašović, an officer of the Police Administration, was arrested by order of the Special State Prosecutor's Office (STP).
He was arrested on suspicion of having committed a crime against humanity in the territory of Hadžić in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), during the 1992 war.
"The search of apartments and other premises of persons deprived of their liberty in several locations in the country is underway, in order to collect other evidence of a criminal act," SDT announced.
The announcement states that the arrested person will be taken to a special prosecutor specializing in crimes against humanity and other goods protected by international law within the legal term, for questioning as a suspect.
Gašović was suspended several times during his service in the Police Directorate due to earlier failures in his work.
As early as 2016, the Bosnian-Herzegovinian media reported on Zoran Gašović, a police officer from Nikšić, who was allegedly involved in a crime in Hadžići in 1992.
After that, the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MUP) of Montenegro also reacted, which then announced that "never until now has anyone from Bosnia and Herzegovina, neither the police nor the judicial authorities contacted the MUP of Montenegro and at least requested checks".
The regional story in 2016 mostly concerned the victims and their families in Hadžići, and the son of one of the murdered Alija Bašićs, Almin Alen Bašić, gave a confession.
"What worries me, as the son of a murdered camp inmate who was killed by this executioner, is the statement of the MUP of Montenegro, that no one from Bosnia and Herzegovina, neither the police nor the judicial authorities, have ever contacted them and at least asked for checks. I shudder at the thought. that he is still free. This man lived in Hadžići until the end of the war. His origin is from Plužine. Before the war, they came to Hadžići and lived in Hadželi Street (former Slobodana Principa Selje-yellow building next to the mosque in the center of Hadžići)." Bašić told then.
He continued that before the war, Gašović's father worked at Coca-Cola in Hadžići and was sentenced to eight years for war crimes committed in the area of Hadžići.
"He has been working in the MUP of Montenegro since 1996. Back in 1999, the Federal MUP filed an indictment against him," said Bašić at the time.
The suspected policeman from Nikšić worked at the Šćepan Polje border crossing at the end of the 90s, and then transferred to the criminal department of CB Nikšić.
Almost 30 members of two families from Hadžić were killed during the war in executions, and the name of Gašović is allegedly associated with most of the murders, as the media reported at the time.
"The bodies of Kovačević were found and exhumed in 2004. There are 59 graves in Hadžići. During the war, almost 250 people were listed as missing. Even today, 90 people from Hadžići are being searched for. This criminal was taken out of the camp on June 26.06.1992, 1999, and then after the executioners beat and shot Alija Bašić (my father), Alija Kovačević and Ramiz Hrgić. Their bodies were exhumed on the slopes of Igman in 2014. Both in the cantonal MUP and in the cantonal prosecutor's office there are notes and witness statements, as well as in the courts. In XNUMX, I published the book "Hadžići, crime without punishment" about the crimes in Hadžići, the son of one of the murdered men pointed out at the time.
UP officer Zoran Gašović, after those allegations in the BiH media, said at the time that he was aware of the accusations brought against him, but he stated that "he is not allowed to comment on those allegations because as a police officer he is not allowed to leave office and make statements ".
In May 2021, the higher state prosecutor's office in Podgorica filed an indictment against the police officer from Nikšić, Zoran R. Gašović, for abuse of office and accepting bribes.
The Podgorica High Court canceled his detention on the instructions of the multi-level court, which is why he defended himself from freedom in the further proceedings.
The indictment presented by the prosecutor Miloš Šoškić, in addition to Gašović, includes UP officials as well as citizens Marinko Simović, Vladan Konatar, Nikola Đukanović, Živko Milović, Veselin Bigović and Nemanja Delić.
They are charged with the commission of criminal acts, receiving and giving bribes, abuse of official position and abuse through incitement, reports Dan.
After the action that was carried out on February 22, 2021, the police announced that eight members of the police and three citizens were arrested for accepting bribes, giving bribes and smuggling people.
"The department for internal control of the police of the Ministry of the Interior, in coordination with the acting state prosecutor of the Higher State Prosecutor's Office in Podgorica, implemented an operational action, which was carried out in the previous period of several months and was aimed at discovering the illegal behavior of police officers in the performance of police duties and the application of police powers", UP announced at the time.
The indictment states, among other things, that Gašović, as an employee of CB Nikšić, asked suspect Nikola Đukanović to pay him 100 euros at the post office in the name of B.B. in order to make an official note on the inspection of the vehicle as a criminal technician, which official action he was not allowed to perform, considering that on 20.7. In 2020, he was not at work and did not perform a vehicle inspection.
"Suspect Nikola Đukanović paid money in the name of B.B. at the post office. so that the defendant could perform the action of inspecting his vehicle and make an official note on that occasion, not knowing that Gašović was not working that day," the indictment reads.
As further stated, Gašović also benefited Živko Milović by making an official note on the inspection of his vehicle, even though the vehicle was not even inspected.
Marinko Simović is charged with receiving a bribe, and Živko Milović with giving a bribe. According to the indictment, Milović bought Simović four tires worth 232 euros so that he would not report that he was transporting a construction machine without obtaining a permit for transportation outside of standard transportation.
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