The Human Rights Action (HRA) announced that the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Police Directorate have not responded to questions about the police's actions before, during and after the mass crime in Cetinje for 17 days.
On January 24, HRA and the Women's Rights Center (WRC) submitted a petition with questions about police actions to the Council for Civilian Control of Police Work.
These NGOs state that on January 28, the Council requested a statement from the Police Directorate on the issues raised in the petition:
- Who, when, and how informed the police about the murders on January 1 in Cetinje, and what was the police officers' response to those reports?
- How many operational police officers were there in Cetinje on January 1st at the time of the mass crime?
- Why did the Police Directorate fail to find and arrest the perpetrator of the murders for more than five and a half hours?
- How did the perpetrator of the murders obtain illegal weapons and ammunition, and did the police take any investigative actions and necessary preventive measures in this regard to protect the safety of citizens?
- Were there any reports of domestic violence against the perpetrator of the crime and, if so, what action was taken regarding those reports?
- Has an expert examination of the perpetrator's phone been performed?
"Answers to these questions have been missing for 17 days, despite the urgency expressed by the Council on February 10. Such delay raises suspicions that something is being hidden. In the meantime, the Supreme State Prosecutor's Office has informed us that it is not conducting any investigation into the mass crime in Cetinje, but that an investigation will eventually be launched after the police's actions are reviewed by the Department for Internal Control of the Ministry of Internal Affairs," it was announced.
HRA and CŽP believe that it is necessary to investigate how and from whom the perpetrator of the murder obtained weapons for which he did not have a license, or whether he had any helpers in committing the mass murder, because these are criminal offenses that are prosecuted ex officio.
"We expect the Police Administration to publish the requested information, which is of general interest for security in Cetinje and beyond, without further delay. After two mass murders in less than three years, in which 23 people died, including four children, while nine people were injured, the only responsible thing to do is to honestly analyze all actions and omissions in the security system so that such terrible crimes do not happen again. The state is obliged to take all necessary measures to protect the right to life and security of people," the statement reads.
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