Special State Prosecutor Tanja Čolan Deretić requested today at the Higher Court in Podgorica, in her closing arguments in the "Envelope" case, prison sentences for Duško Knežević, Slavoljub Migo Stijepović and all other defendants in this case.
Contrary to the prosecutor's position, the defense requested an acquittal, calling the trial a farce.
"I fully stand by the allegations in the indictment and believe that the material and personal evidence has established that the accused committed the criminal offenses they are charged with. Therefore, I request that the accused be found guilty and sentenced to imprisonment within the limits prescribed by law," the prosecutor emphasized.
The defense believes that the indictment is unfounded and that the court has an easy task in these proceedings because the defendants should be acquitted.
Knežević's defense attorney, attorney Dražen Medojević, said that the SDT filed the indictment in order not to interfere in the political racket being perpetrated against Knežević.
"This is a farce. I believe that the SDT, from the moment the indictment was filed until today, knows that there are no elements of the criminal offense of creating a criminal organization and money laundering. They unfairly linked Knežević and Stijepović to a criminal organization, and they did this in order not to get into a serious topic, which is the political racket that was carried out against businessman Knežević, and in order to escape from the burning topic - the financing of political parties," warned Medojević.
Lawyer Dušan Radosavljević, Knežević's defense attorney, pointed out that this indictment should never have been filed because it, like the others filed against the president of the Atlas Group, aims to discredit him.
"There are neither enough witnesses nor material evidence in this case. The only possible outcome is an acquittal for all defendants. Knežević financed the DPS and did so for a long time. When he decided to stop doing so, his political persecution began," Radosavljević pointed out.
He added that the indictment was written by prosecutor Lidija Vukčević and added that she did so on the orders of the former chief special prosecutor Milivoj Katnić.
"At this point, it is being forgotten that Katnić, who is now accused of serious crimes, began the persecution of Knežević. All indictments were written during his term and therefore should be subject to independent review," he warned.
"Knežević presented a truthful defense and is now suffering the consequences because he financed the DPS. Based on all the evidence presented, it can be concluded that this is a staged process that only aims to degrade the man who financed the former regime," believes Radosavljević.
Lawyer Andrijana Razić said that seven people are charged with being part of a criminal organization and laundering money, but that the prosecutor did not explain this.
"The prosecutor did not substantiate the allegations in the indictment with a single piece of evidence. This is outrageous and confirms that this accusation is legally unfounded and that it was made tendentiously and with the intention of prosecuting our client at all costs," Razić stressed. She added that this indictment should never have been confirmed.
"This is a meaningless legal construction, and I think the court will have no dilemma about what decision to make in this case. I expect a certain outcome, and that is an acquittal for both our client and the other defendants," Razić is convinced.
The defense attorney for the accused Živko Šljivančanin, attorney Nikola Martinović, stated that this indictment showed the superficiality of the prosecution.
"According to the same allegations, Šljivančanin became a "member of a criminal organization" in 2016 and committed only one act. There is no theoretical chance that he is part of a criminal organization, because there are no elements for such a thing. The SDT should know that the penalty for conversion is imposed only on a legal entity, and in misdemeanor proceedings," said Martinović.
Closing arguments will continue at the hearing on March 18th.
The indictment states, among other things, that Knežević, after his associates converted 110.000 dollars into euros, handed Stijepović "only" 47.500 euros. In addition to Knežević and Stijepović, Knežević's associates and friends Branislav Todorović, Živko Šljivančanin, Tamara Krdžić, Goran Grujović and Tomica Knežević were also accused.
The indictment alleges that in the second half of 2010, Knežević created a criminal group whose members were tasked with withdrawing money acquired from the illegal activities of several companies and then handing it over to him for legal circulation.
Under the first count of the indictment, Knežević committed the criminal offense of creating a criminal organization under Article 401a, paragraph 1, in conjunction with paragraph 6 of the Criminal Code of Montenegro, and the defendants Knežević, Todorović, Šljivančanih, Grujović and Krdžić committed the criminal offense of creating a criminal organization under Article 401a, paragraph 2, in conjunction with paragraphs 1 and 6 of the Criminal Code of Montenegro.
Under the second count of the indictment, these defendants, as well as Stijepović, as co-perpetrators committed the criminal offense of money laundering under Article 268, paragraph 3, in conjunction with paragraph 1 of the Criminal Code of Montenegro.
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