According to the action plan adopted by the Supreme State Prosecutor's Office, the retrial of four key, legally concluded cases of war crimes committed in Montenegro - Deportacije, Morinj, Bukovica and Kaluđerski laz is foreseen from the 3rd quarter of this year, writes the response of the special prosecutor specialized in the investigation of war crimes Tanje Čolan Deretić.
"Proceedings in the cases of Deportation, Morinj, Bukovica and Kaluđerski laz must be undertaken in accordance with the Strategy adopted by the Supreme State Prosecutor. The SDT will undertake all actions within its powers and obligations in order to achieve the goals set by the Strategy, which were set before the SDT", states Čolan Deretić in his response to "Vijesta".
The Strategy for the Investigation of War Crimes 2024 - 2027 and the Action Plan accompanying that strategic document stipulate that the Special State Prosecutor's Office, based on the analysis of existing data and evidence obtained from the Residual Mechanism in The Hague, will reopen investigations in previously legally concluded cases in the next two years. cases of war crimes committed in Montenegro.
The strategic document requests that the SDT perform an additional analysis of the events in relation to those for which the proceedings have already been legally concluded, and for the purpose, as stated, of the potential identification of other defendants and new facts...
The special prosecutor who prosecutes war crimes cases in terse answers stated that the SDT, after the summer amendments to the Code of Criminal Procedure, which enabled the exchange of information and the taking of evidence from the International Residual Mechanism, has not yet led to the SDT sending new subpoenas to the Mechanism.
"Evidence in certain cases was taken before the amendment of the CPC. The Special State Prosecutor's Office has taken evidence from The Hague in several cases, and due to the interest of the proceedings, we cannot state individually in which cases", said Čolan Deretić.
Investigation against Katnić
The Special State Prosecutor's Office is currently working on the case in the investigation phase, where the proceedings are being conducted against the former chief special prosecutor. Milivoj Katnić, due to the suspicion that he committed a "war crime against the civilian population" in the area of Cavtat during 1992.
When asked by "Vijesti" whether the SDT during the investigation in this case took evidence from the Residual Mechanism or from the Republic of Croatia - the special prosecutor answered:
"Due to the interest of the procedure, we cannot provide information about the procedure that is in the investigation phase."
In the order for the investigation, it is stated that during the conflict in the area of Cavtat and Konavalo during the 1991-92 war, Katnić acted contrary to the Geneva Convention.
"He acted inhumanely towards certain civilians of Croatian nationality, by attacking, torturing, physically injuring them, and insulting human dignity," the order for the investigation reads.
The investigation was opened after the analysis of evidence collected by Croatia, which was taken from the huge material of the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Courts, which was delivered to Montenegro on two occasions in 2020 and 2023.
"Due to the interest of the proceedings, we cannot provide information on whether the data obtained from the Mechanism resulted in the initiation of new investigations," the special prosecutor says.
The High Court in Podgorica is in the process of reviewing the indictment that was filed in June against a former police officer from Nikšić. Zoran Gašović, due to accusations that he was in the Hadžić area during the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina participated in murders and carried out enslavement, forced resettlement, torture on religious and ethnic grounds.
The investigation into that case was launched in October last year after the cooperation of the SDT with the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Courts in The Hague, which submitted material to our prosecution, which points to the participation of Montenegrin citizens in war events in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
There is also a court case pending before the High Court Slobodan Peković, because of accusations that he killed two Bosniak civilians in Foča in 1992, but also for rape in that city. If the panel does not pass a first-instance verdict by October 19, the accused Peković will be released because he has been in custody for three years...
In the internal strategic document of the prosecution, it is stated that the SDT conducts investigations in seven cases of war crimes, and that since the establishment of that prosecution in 2015, as of December 31, 12, a total of 2023 cases have been investigated.
Protection of victims, passage of time...
The Strategy for the Investigation of War Crimes 2024 - 2027 states that the fact that the evidence of the International Criminal Court and the International Residual Mechanism will be able to be used in criminal proceedings in Montenegro "will significantly improve the processing of complex cases of war crimes".
In order for the collection of evidence to begin, further adoption of changes aimed at ensuring a higher level of procedural protection of victims is necessary, which has been postponed for several months, as well as the improvement of the normative framework in order to fully harmonize with the International Convention on the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearances .
When asked by "Vijesti" if there is any hope that after a considerable period of time new cases may be opened, the prosecutor Čolan Deretić announced that "SDT will take all measures and actions within its powers and in accordance with the state of the case file will make decisions based on the law." .
A year ago, the SDT and the Prosecutor's Office of the Mechanism agreed on the establishment of a joint working group in order to further increase cooperation and speed up investigations.
"It was agreed that the SDT will work intensively, with the help of the Mechanism Office, to complete a significant number of investigations in the next two to three years, with the full expectation that after that investigations will be launched, indictments will be filed and trials will begin," the Strategy says.
According to SDT reports, from the beginning of the implementation of the Strategy in 2015 until the end of 2023, eight suspects were questioned (both in reconnaissance and in investigations), and based on requests from Croatia, Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, five suspects were questioned.
"In the same period, 36 witnesses were heard, and based on the requests of the state and according to the sent requests, 35 witnesses were heard," it says in the recently adopted Strategy.
The strategic document also notes that there is no statute of limitations for war crimes, but that the fact "that the passage of time represents a significant obstacle in the realization of justice" cannot be ignored.
"With each passing day, the challenges increase - key witnesses, victims, and perpetrators die, which directly affects the possibility of accurately reconstructing events and determining responsibility. This loss of irreplaceable sources of information not only complicates the investigation and trial processes, but in many cases permanently prevents justice for victims and their families and makes it difficult to discover the fate of missing persons. Therefore, there is an imperative to act quickly and use all available resources and technologies to document testimony," the document reads.
The Special State Prosecutor's Office is obliged to submit a report twice a year to the Supreme State Prosecutor on the actions it has undertaken in relation to the implementation of the Strategy.
Lack of prosecutors, lack of police officers
In the strategic document, special attention is given to the necessity of strengthening the administrative capacity of the SDT and the Special Police Department, where it is stated that the positions for investigating war crimes are occupied by 60-80 percent.
"In the Group for the detection of criminal acts of organized crime, terrorism and war crimes, 15 jobs have been systematized, and nine officers have been hired, that is, 60% of the systematized number of jobs", it is stated.
The problem in the work and the fact that the SDT does not have a centralized database of state bodies, nor the ability to access all the information it needs for its work, which is why prosecutors are forced to obtain all data by sending letters to state institutions, which leads to a slow and difficult work...
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