Former Inspector General of the National Security Agency Artan Kurti filed a criminal complaint against Prime Minister Milojko Spajić, in which he claims that the Prime Minister abused his official position when he dismissed him for the second time.
He did this on April 24, six days after the Government dismissed him again, despite the decision of the Administrative Court, and the day after that the Ministry of Justice tried again to return the man from Ulcinj to the criminal record.
In the application submitted by the Special State Prosecutor's Office (SDT), which Vijesti had access to, it is written that everything that has happened since his first dismissal on November 9, 2023 points to the conclusion that Spajić deliberately dismissed him illegally, and claims that the ministers did not vote on his dismissal, but also that it was not discussed by the Commission for personnel and administrative issues.
He explained that in the decision by which he was dismissed, it is written that they are doing so because the mandate of the Government that appointed him has ended, even though he was appointed to that position for five years and his remaining in the position of inspector general is not conditioned by the mandate of the Government.
"The preceding points to a clear conclusion that it is a direct intention of the Prime Minister to propose to the Government that the Inspector General be dismissed illegally, because he knew that the Inspector General's mandate does not end with the termination of the mandate of the 43rd Government. This is because then, in that case, the mandate of the director of the National Security Agency should also have ended, because he was also appointed for a full term of five years, and accordingly the benefit was obtained, and the dismissal of the inspector general caused damage, i.e. more the right was violated, which fulfills the condition for the criminal offense of abuse of official position," the application states.
Kurti also wrote to the special prosecutors that Spajić's Government appointed at the session on March 21 Predrag Burić to the position from which they dismissed him, and then suggested that they obtain documentation about it through official means.
He emphasized that at the end of last year, after he filed a lawsuit against them, the Government adopted changes to the provisions of Article 40 paragraph 2 of the Law on the National Security Agency, which added a requirement of five years of experience in the security sector to the appointment of the inspector general.
He also explains that, after those changes, Spajić benefited Burić by appointing him to the position of general inspector without checking psycho-physical abilities and other procedures provided for in Article 27 paragraph 1 of the Law on ANB.
In the application, Kurti states that the Administrative Court, acting on his complaint, issued a verdict on March 4, annulling the original dismissal decision:
"And he clearly stated that the explanation of the decision on the termination of the mandate of the appointed or appointed person should contain specific and clear reasons for the dismissal, and such a reason is not represented by the fact that the prosecutor (Artan Kurti) was appointed to the position of inspector general of the National Security Agency on 43 The Government of Montenegro, whose mandate ended on October 31, 10".
He also states that that court referred to the provisions of Article 60, paragraphs 1 and 2 of the Law on Civil Servants and State Employees, i.e. the conditions for dismissal...
For Kurti, the law also applies retroactively
Kurti also wrote in the application that the Government retroactively applied the Law on ANB in relation to him, although this is not possible, because the public interest was not determined when making the changes.
He explained that in the re-dismissal, brought after the verdict of the Administrative Court, the Government dismissed him with the explanation that he did not have five years of experience in the security sector, but also because they did not believe in the success of work and the performance of work tasks:
"The Commission for Personnel and Administrative Issues, as a permanent working body of the Government, for matters of appointment and dismissal, in a new procedure considered the proposal of the President of the Government of Montenegro, especially bearing in mind the legal provision that the inspector general of the National Security Agency can be appointed a person who in addition to the general conditions for establishing an employment relationship in a state body, he must have at least five years of work experience in the security sector, so she submitted a proposal to the Government to relieve Artan Kurti of his duties", Kurti quotes in his application for their decision.
Explaining the conditions that applied when he was appointed, Kurti wrote in the application that Spajić must have been aware that the provision of the article referred to by the Government in the re-dismissal does not have retroactive effect.
He also stated that the provision referred to by the Government foresees the conditions of appointment, not dismissal:
"Which indicates a clear motive, intention, goal and consciousness of the reported person to, with direct intent through violation of legal norms, unlawfully and arbitrarily dismiss Artan Kurti from the post of general inspector and thus cause him harm and severely violate the right to perform his duties, thereby committed the criminal offense of abuse of official position," the report says.
A day after he filed a criminal complaint against the prime minister, the Ministry of Justice tried to re-enter the criminal record for which Kurti had been convicted, in order to render meaningless the eventual decision of the Administrative Court on his lawsuit and the possibility of him returning to the position of inspector general. National Security Agency. On April 25, they informed the High Court in Podgorica"
In the summer of 2022, Artan Kurti was appointed to the most important position in the ANB's internal control system, and his arrival in the secret service was accompanied by numerous controversies and political and media constructions regarding the manner in which the conviction for which he was legally bound was deleted from the criminal record register. convicted.
SDT to determine whether the Commission was in session
Kurti also wrote in the application that he has concrete and serious knowledge that the Commission for Personnel and Administrative Issues never held a session regarding his dismissal and that they did not submit any proposal to Spajić.
That is why he proposed to SDT to listen to the president and members of that Commission.
"In the decision on the dismissal from November 9, 2023, it is nowhere stated that the Commission for personnel and administrative issues met... so the question arises why the Commission is meeting again in the procedure, and not for the first time... I also point out that direct information indicates that on April 18, 2024, the last point of the Government session was the dismissal of Inspector General Artan Kurti, and that it was not decided by the votes of the ministers, but that a conclusion on the dismissal was allegedly, previously, illegally passed, which I propose to they obtain evidence ex officio," he wrote in the application.
The Government responded to the news that on April 16, the Commission for Personnel and Administrative Affairs considered Spajić's proposal to dismiss Kurti.
"...That on April 16, 2024, the Committee for Personnel and Administrative Affairs, as a permanent working body of the Government responsible for matters of proposing appointments, appointments and dismissals under the jurisdiction of the Government, in a new procedure considered the Proposal for the dismissal of the Inspector General in the Agency for national security submitted by the President of the Government of Montenegro and, taking into account the President's statements on the reasons for the proposed dismissal of the Inspector General of the National Security Agency, Artan Kurti, and especially bearing in mind the legal provision that a person who, in addition to of the general conditions for employment in a state body must have at least five years of work experience in the security sector, submitted to the Government a proposal to dismiss Artan Kurtija from his duties as inspector general in the National Security Agency", claims the Government.
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