Special Prosecutor Miloš Šoškić returned the corrected indictment against former Chief Special Prosecutor Milivoj Katnić and former Assistant Director of the Police Administration Zoran Lazović to the High Court, Vijesti was told.
"I confirm that today the SDT submitted the indictment against the defendants MK and ZL to the Higher Court in Podgorica," court spokesperson Ivana Vukmirović told Vijesti.
The trial chamber, chaired by Zoran Radović, and including Nenad Vujanović and Vesna Kovačević, returned the document to the Special State Prosecutor's Office (SDT) on Thursday and gave it three days to correct the shortcomings.
The decision returning the indictment states that the prosecutor did not specify whether the criminal organization was created at the beginning of 2020 or at some other time that year, or until when it operated...
"And when the defendant Milivoje Katnić, the accused Saša Čađenović and Petar Lazović became members of a criminal organization... This is especially true given the fact that, pursuant to Article 401a, paragraph 6 of the Criminal Code of Montenegro, for the existence of the criminal offense of creating a criminal organization, it is necessary for it to have three or more persons, i.e. at least three persons, and it remains unclear when the organization organized by the defendant Zoran Lazović acquired the status of a criminal organization... or since when three members acted in its composition. In addition, from the provision of Article 292 of the CPC, which regulates the content of the indictment (name and surname of the defendant with personal data - Article 292, paragraph 1, item 1 of the CPC), it is concluded that an indictment cannot be filed against unidentified persons. In this specific case, an indictment was filed against two persons, but other currently unidentified persons are also listed as members of the criminal organization, although there is no indication in the case files or in the explanation of the indictment of the existence of unidentified members of the criminal organization," it is stated in High Court document.
It was also explained that the indictment is made incomprehensible by the fact that Katnić's position as Chief Special Prosecutor ended in February 2022.
"In this specific case, the gain for members of the criminal organization is not specified in the factual description of the offense under Article 401a included in Count I of the indictment, nor is it stated in the description of the criminal offenses of abuse of official position under Article 416, paragraph 1 of the Criminal Code of Montenegro, contained in Counts II, III and IV of the indictment that Zoran Lazović, by committing the criminal offense of abuse of official position under Article 416, paragraph 1 of the Criminal Code of Montenegro (Count II of the indictment), Zoran Lazović and Milivoje Katnić, by committing the criminal offense of abuse of official position under Article 416, paragraph 1 in conjunction with Article 23, paragraph 2 of the Criminal Code of Montenegro (Count III of the indictment), and Milivoje Katnić, by committing the criminal offense of abuse of official position under Article 416, paragraph 1 in conjunction with Article 23, paragraph 2 of the Criminal Code of Montenegro (Count IV of the indictment), acquired material gain, which additionally contributes to "the incomprehensibility of the indictment," the judges concluded.
They also requested a correction in the part that refers to the lifting of the ban on entry into Montenegro for "members of Radoje Zvicer's criminal organization - Veljko Belivuk and Marko Miljković", because the statement of the former assistant director of the Police Directorate, Enis Baković, leads to the conclusion that a decision on the ban on entry into Montenegro in relation to these Belgrade residents was not made.
"This also stems from the witness statement of Vesko Damjanović, who was the acting director of the Police Directorate at the time. In such a factual situation, the factual determination in relation to the criminal offense under Count II of the indictment is unclear, namely that the defendant Zoran Lazović requested the Assistant Director of the Police Directorate for the Criminal Police Sector, Enis Baković, to lift the ban on entry into Montenegro for the aforementioned members of the criminal organization from the Republic of Serbia, when the decision banning these persons from entering Montenegro, in accordance with the cited provisions of the Law on Foreigners, was never issued."
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