The acquittal in the coup d'état case was the only possible epilogue to the new proceedings before the High Court in Podgorica, said the defense attorneys of the accused and emphasized that they expect an appeal from the prosecution, but that it does not pose any threat.
Lawyer Dražen Medojević told journalists in front of the High Court that the annulment decision of the Court of Appeal from 2021 was so precise, that there was no possibility of making any other decision except acquittal.
He said that Judge Zoran Radović, after pronouncing the verdict, gave an extended explanation and that he emphasized those things that were stated in the annulment decision of the Appellate Court.
"So that not a word, not a single piece of evidence from the very beginning could in any reasonable thinking question the criminal responsibility of any defendant. It was a clumsy and insane construction of the former Special State Prosecutor's Office (SDT) headed by Milivoj Katnić, and the only possible epilogue is today," Medojević said.
Asked how he commented on the fact that the SDT stuck with the same indictment and demanded the same punishments, he said that it was not clear to him.
"They didn't come to stand behind what they did, they came to read someone else's final words," Medojević said.
Lawyer Miroje Jovanović said that this "shameful process" was started seven years ago.
"Today, we received a first-instance conclusion in the sense of a normal, completely rational and juridically logical reason," said Jovanović.
As he stated, finally no one believes anymore in the "psychedelic stories of the false witness of Sinđelić's collaborator, nor in the illiterate and incomprehensible constructs of Mirko Velimirović".
"When the indictment is based on such witnesses and on police weapons, then this is how it goes," said Jovanović.
He pointed out that, if the prosecution appeals, they will write twice as long answers to appeals.
Asked to comment on the drastic difference in conclusions between the panel of judges Suzana Mugoša and Radović, Jovanović said that it was because Mugoša had not read the case and that he "has no idea about the case".
He pointed out that in the first-instance verdict, Mugoša's reasoning was not legal, but ideological-political.
"People who gave completely natural political speeches were tried for political speeches," Jovanović stated.
Speaking about the non-appearance of the representative of the prosecution at the sentencing, he said that it was a matter for the prosecution.
Jovanović pointed out that the question is how they stood by some claims that "fell" on June 5 or 6, 2018.
He said that they expect an appeal from the prosecution.
"It is not a threat, they write a 200-page complaint, we will write a 400-page response to the complaint," said Jovanović.
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