The Supreme Court will decide on the request not to try Cetinje police officers accused of unlawfully using coercive and chemical agents against citizens by exceeding their official authority while securing the enthronement ceremony of Metropolitan Joaniki in Cetinje.
That request was submitted yesterday by the defense attorney of the two accused policemen - Dragomir Vlahović and Nedjeljko Marković, lawyer Damir Lekić.
He told Vijesti that a hearing was held yesterday in front of the Basic Court in Cetinje to examine and assess the legality and justification of the indictment in the proceedings against police officer Dragiša Mugoša and others, due to the existence of reasonable suspicion that they committed the crime of torture as co-perpetrators.
"This is a procedure that was formed on the occasion of the police action on the day of the enthronement of Metropolitan Joaniki of Montenegrin littoral in Cetinje, when a certain number of citizens organized protests, as a result of which authorized police officers had to undertake certain official actions, which ultimately resulted in Metropolitan Joanikije even had to use an airplane for his enthronement," explained Lekić.
He pointed out that the Basic State Prosecutor's Office in Cetinje is actually and locally competent to initiate criminal prosecution in that criminal proceeding, while the Basic State Court in Cetinje is actually and locally competent to conduct criminal proceedings, i.e., the trial in the first instance.
"It is common knowledge that the majority of the population in Cetinje is Montenegrin and that they expressed great displeasure when the metropolitan of the Montenegrin littoral, Joanikije, was supposed to be enthroned in the Cetinje monastery, which resulted in large protests, due to which the authorized police officers were forced to undertake certain Because of this, the Basic State Prosecutor's Office in Cetinje and the Basic Court in Cetinje were under enormous pressure, so the question of their objectivity in their actions may justifiably arise plaintiffs but it was rejected as unfounded. For this reason, and so that the defendants would certainly have a fair and impartial treatment before the court and without the slightest doubt about it, I submitted a request for the transfer of jurisdiction for reasons of expediency, which is regulated by the provision of Art. 34 paragraph 1 of the CPC, which stipulates that the Supreme Court can appoint another competent court to conduct the proceedings if it is obvious that the proceedings will be carried out more easily, or if there are other important reasons," said Lekić.
He explained that he considered that for the above reasons, considering the local jurisdiction of the Basic State Prosecutor's Office in Cetinje and the Basic Court in Cetinje, and especially bearing in mind all the mentioned circumstances that accompanied this enthronement of Metropolitan Joaniki, as well as all the actions taken by the authorized police officers on that occasion, that there are other important reasons for the Supreme Court to designate another locally competent court on the territory of Montenegro.
"If possible, the Basic Court in Podgorica, and with the aim of avoiding even the smallest possible dilemma that can arise, that the defendants in this proceeding before the court may possibly receive some treatment that is not fair, that is, that does not meet the necessary standards, i.e. the which is biased to their detriment. As the decision on this request should be made by the Supreme Court of Montenegro, the president of the court - panel Branislav Leković postponed the hearing until the decision on this request was made by the Supreme Court of Montenegro," said Lekić.
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