The former president of the Supreme Court, Vesna Medenica, once claimed that Milivoje Katnić illegally arrested businessman Zoran Ćoć Becirović in November 2019.
She stated this in a conversation with the then Minister of Justice, Zoran Pažin, on the same day that the man from Kolašin was deprived of his liberty on November 28...
"Even though it's funny to you, what he's doing is pure abuse. He arrested Ćoć," Medenica sent to Pažina that day.
The Minister of Justice at the time answered her with amazement: "What are you talking about?", after which he received an explanation:
"Determined detention for 72 hours. I don't know what they are charging him with. Bedi will come to see"...
Bećirović is a family friend with Kolašinka Medenica, and they had several business arrangements...
Special prosecutors suspected him of endangering the safety of the court expert from that municipality in the north of Montenegro, Aleksandar Rakočević, and attempting to prevent evidence.
Two months later, the Basic Court in Podgorica rejected the indictment against that businessman, who, through his portal, accused Katnić of trying in every way to deal with him personally and to persecute him since he took office...
Bećirović was previously arrested by members of the Special Police Department, and a day later he was questioned at the Basic Prosecutor's Office in Podgorica, after it was assessed that the criminal offense charged against him was within their jurisdiction.
He was soon released, because the judge did not accept the prosecution's proposal to order him into custody.
At the time, it was unofficially said from the top of the Police Administration that Bećirović was deprived of his liberty because of the threatening messages he sent to the economic court expert from Kolašin, who was involved in cases related to the businessman.
Allegedly, in the messages sent to that court expert, he also mentioned the then GST Milivoj Katnić, as well as some other prosecutors.
Meetings, travel...
The former head of the judiciary and the head of the government department of justice, in the period from the fall of 2018 to the end of 2020, exchanged hundreds of phone messages, in which they mentioned, among other things, the situation in the judicial and prosecutorial authorities, certain cases, arranging meetings with the then the president of the country, Milo Đukanović...
On October 23, 2019, Medenica asked Pažin to exempt her from his decision that court and prosecutor's office officials may not go on trips financed by third parties, i.e., organizers of certain events.
"The Americans wanted to pay for my trip to Washington for a meeting with the World Bank. Zorica Kalezić and our delegation are still there and there was activity around the building and the loan, and Zorica says that I should respond to the bank's invitation, also because some meetings have been arranged with me. The Americans are now reporting that you won't let them pay for the trip, so do something so that the President of the Supreme Court is covered by it. It's not right. Get in touch," she writes to him.
The Minister of Justice replies to her that it is "foolishness" and that it does not apply to her: "Foolishness... It does not apply to you... I criticized them for taking 20-30 prosecutors to exotic tourist destinations, some of them were and 4 times in America this year, you can't find them in the office, and then they criticize Montenegro for the 'lack of results'... They have no time for tourism... And all that irrational spending of money is called 'aid to the citizens of Montenegro' .
Pažin tells her to tell the organizers that she has his consent...
"I know, but they are now generalizing it, so tell them somehow, because the Ambassador has hitchhiked, so have a conversation with her," asks Medenica.
The Minister of Justice at the time replied that the Government would pay for her trip, if necessary: "The Government will pay for your trip, if necessary, you are going to a socially beneficial meeting..."
"Fuck you," writes Medenica.
"I will be in Montenegro tomorrow morning, so we will solve it... You can tell them that we have heard each other and that we have reached a consensus... And the prosecutors won't even go as far as Mali Mokrog Lug...", writes Pažin...
Medenica is accused of being part of a criminal organization formed by her son Miloš Medenica.
The special state prosecution charges that multi-member group with numerous criminal offenses - creation of a criminal organization, smuggling, giving and receiving bribes, illegal influence, abuse of official position, drug smuggling... In that prosecutor's act, among other things, it is written that Medenica received bribes as would influence court verdicts, but also pressure colleagues to make decisions in favor of those he urges, regardless of the state of the files.
From the position of President of the Supreme Court, and even after she left office, she communicated with numerous judges, prosecutors and state officials.
On the "agenda" were often questions of court or prosecutorial cases, but she was also interested in which prosecutor was acting on the reports she was interested in, she demanded a postponement of the execution of the sentence, "ordered" detention...
Happy to have you bold and brave
A few hours after the Law on Freedom of Religion was passed in the Parliament on December 27, 2019, the then President of the Supreme Court, Vesna Medenica, told the Minister of Justice that it was a "significant historical undertaking"....
With the votes of the then ruling majority and the SDP, that law was adopted around three hours after midnight.
There was an incident in the plenary hall, and all the deputies of the Democratic Front at that time were arrested and taken to the police station in Greece.
The passing of that law practically led to the fall of the three-decade rule of the Democratic Party of Socialists.
"A significant historical undertaking. You made a great contribution in the best way. All the best," Medenica sent to the then Minister of Justice at 16.59:XNUMX p.m. that day.
Three minutes later Pažin thanked her:
"Thank you, my dear... When a person does something in which he believes with his whole being and distant goals become closer, even though sometimes they almost slip away before the very end... I am tired, I left the Assembly at around 5 am this morning, but my heart is full...".
He then receives a congratulatory message from the President of the Supreme Court:
"I'm proud of everything you've done, and happy that we have you presentable and brave".
A little about DK too
During one of the conversations with Medenica, Pažin referred to the postponement of the hearing to confirm the indictment against the fugitive bankers Duško Knežević and Đorđe Đurđić, telling Medenica not to "warn without reason"...
Although he sent her that message on April 18, 2019, Medenica does not mention that banker in her conversation with him until May.
"Indictment confirmed. Written dispatch tomorrow," she wrote to him on May 13.
In the middle of that month, the Higher Court in Podgorica confirmed the indictment brought by the Special State Prosecutor's Office against the president of the Atlas Group, Duško Knežević, and the former CEO of Atlas Bank, Đorđe Đurđić.
"The court unconstitutionally restricted the movement of Medenica"
The Appellate Court unconstitutionally restricted the movement of the accused Vesna Medenica, one of her lawyers, lawyer Zdenko Tomanović, announced yesterday, adding that the Constitutional Court found this.
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"Accepting the position of the law office Tomanović, the Constitutional Court of Montenegro, in its latest decision from January of this year, determined that the initial determination of measures restricting the freedom of movement of Vesna Medenica is not in accordance with the Constitution and the European Convention on Human Rights. This time, the Constitutional Court of Montenegro found that the Appellate Court in Podgorica Vesna Medenica violated the right to freedom of movement guaranteed by the Constitution of Montenegro when it first imposed surveillance measures on her," said Tomanović in a statement.
The lawyer pointed out that the Constitutional Court, in a decision made before that, determined that the rights of Medenica were also violated by the High Court in Podgorica, which extended those measures.
"The lack of a reasonable relationship of proportionality between the legal means used and the goal that was sought to be achieved means that the determination of surveillance measures as well as their further extension is a violation of the rights guaranteed by the Constitution and the European Convention," said Tomanović.
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