Bjelopoljac Alija Balijagić (64) stated before the investigating judge of the Higher Court in Bijelo Polje that he had reason to kill some more people from his neighborhood, but also that he believed he would do so if he met them - "because they deserved it."
This is stated in the decision of the panel of the Bijelo Polje Higher Court, which rejected as unfounded the appeal of his defense attorney, who requested that Balijagić defend himself from freedom.
This decision was made by a panel presided over by Judge Svetlana Načić, in which her colleagues were also present Bojana Radović i Dragan Dasic.
Citing the reasons why Balijagić cannot defend himself from freedom, they cited a report from the Danilovgrad Forensic Center on fingerprint expertise. The report states that the fingerprints of the Bjelopolje native were found on the living room window and the outer tin roof of the brother and sister's house, Jovana (60) and Milenka Madžgalj (69), who is suspected of being killed by Balijagić on October 25, 2024, in the Bijelo Polje hamlet of Sokolac.
"It was determined to originate from the palm of AB's right hand," the decision states.
Citing evidence from the case file, the judges also specified that from the DNA expert examination, based on the serological and DNA analyses and biostatic calculations, it can be concluded that Balijagić's biological trace remained on the cartridge from the hunting rifle, but also that he is one of the two donors of the biological material isolated in the blood stains under the window, on the remains of the broken glass, the window closing handle, the refrigerator door, the inside of the drawer...
The decision of the Higher Court in Bijelo Polje states that Balijagić's defense attorney appealed the decision of the investigating judge, which was made on March 18th.
"Lawyer M.V"... from Bijelo Polje filed an appeal for all legally prescribed reasons, essentially stating that the stated grounds for detention do not apply to the defendant, proposing that the panel uphold the appeal, revoke the contested decision and release the defendant to defend himself at liberty," the appeal, which the three-member panel rejected as unfounded, reads.
Balijagić is charged with committing the criminal offense of aggravated murder against the Madžgalj siblings and the criminal offense of illegal possession and carrying of weapons and explosives.
Suspected of double murder
The panel that decided on the appeal of Balijagić's defense attorney assessed that the evidence contained in the case files of the Higher Court in Bijelo Polje - the order to conduct an investigation by the Higher State Prosecutor's Office in Bijelo Polje, the criminal report of the Bijelo Polje police and their special report, as well as the evidence attached to the report, gave rise to a reasonable suspicion that the defendant committed the criminal offenses he was charged with.
They also stated that reasonable suspicion is the basic prerequisite for ordering detention of a person:
"While the fact whether the defendant actually committed the criminal offenses he is charged with will be determined in the further course of the criminal proceedings."
“When the contested decision of the investigating judge was made, there were no irregularities pointed out by the defendant’s defense counsel, nor any significant violations of the CPC, which the court shall monitor ex officio in accordance with the provisions of Art. 417, paragraphs 3 and 4 of the CPC. In relation to his decision, the investigating judge in Bijelo Polje gave clear and valid reasons, which are also accepted by the panel of this court. According to the panel of this court, and contrary to the appellate allegations, the investigating judge correctly finds that there are circumstances for ordering detention against the defendant on the grounds for detention under Art. 175, paragraph 1, items 1, 3 and 4 of the CPC. Namely, in the opinion of the panel of this court, ordering detention against the defendant appears to be necessary for the time being on the grounds for detention under Art. 175, paragraph 1, item 1 of the CPC. The fact is that the defendant, after the criminal offense, which he is reasonably suspected of having committed, namely from 25. 10. "In 2024, he was on the run and unavailable to the state authorities of his home country, that a national arrest warrant was issued for him, by order of the investigating judge of this court, Kri. No. 234/24 of 29. 10. 2024, and then an international arrest warrant, according to which the defendant was deprived of his liberty in the Republic of Serbia," the decision reads.
The judges also point out that, in doing so, the defendant is aware of the criminal offense he is charged with in the indictment:
"Which, given the threat of a prison sentence, if he is found guilty, cannot leave him indifferent in relation to the court and the criminal proceedings. Contrary to the appellate arguments, the fact that the defendant was already on the run and unavailable to state authorities indicates that he may certainly do the same again, if he is found at large, and thus hinder the further course and conduct of the criminal proceedings, and this is also the case with the fact that, according to the defendant, he has two brothers living in Sarajevo, as well as that he has relatives in the Republic of Serbia, all of which indicates that he has developed family ties abroad, from whom he could expect help in escaping and hiding, so in view of the above, the panel of this court finds that the aforementioned facts justify ordering detention on the grounds of detention under Article 175, paragraph 1, item 1 of the Criminal Procedure Code," the judges of the Higher Court in Bijelo Polje assessed.
They also state that ordering detention is necessary on the grounds of detention under Article 175, paragraph 1, item 4 of the CPC.
"The defendant is reasonably suspected of having committed the criminal offense of aggravated murder under Art. 144, paragraph 1, items 1 and 8 of the Criminal Code of Montenegro, for which a prison sentence of at least 10 years or a long-term prison sentence may be imposed by law, which fulfills the first legal requirement for the extension of detention on pre-trial grounds under Art. 175, paragraph 1, item 4 of the Criminal Code."
"In addition, in this specific case, there are grave circumstances of the crime, which give the crime a particularly grave character, and which are viewed through the manner of its commission, given that there is a reasonable suspicion that the defendant deprived the lives of two people, a brother and sister, in their family home, and all these circumstances give the criminal offense for which the defendant is reasonably suspected a particularly grave character," the judges pointed out, stating that they did not find that there were circumstances that would justify terminating the defendant's detention.
The suspect in the double murder on March 17 was extradited to Montenegro from Serbia, whose security forces deprived him of his liberty on November 21, 2024.
During a hearing at the Bijelo Polje prosecutor's office, he admitted that on October 25th last year, in Sokolac, he killed his brother and sister Madžgalj with a hunting rifle in their home.
He said he was remorseful, that he did not know the Madžgaljes, nor had he ever seen them before, that he did not even know their last names, and that he had no reason to kill them.
He explained that he was provoked by an argument with Jovan, to whom he had introduced himself as the hunter Drašković, who had asked him: "Who are you, the hunter Drašković, who has the hunter Drašković, so where are your sheep?" and that he then told him to leave the house and never see him again.
He told the prosecutor that after the murder, he was about 500 meters from the Madžgalj house in Sokolac all night and that the next day he left for Grančarevo.
They are afraid that he will repeat the crime.
The panel of the Bijelo Polje High Court assessed that it was justified to order Balijagić into custody due to the risk of repeating the criminal offense.
"The fact that the defendant, during the hearing before the investigating judge, stated that he had reason to kill some other people from his neighborhood and that he believed that if he met them, he would do the same, because they deserved it, as well as that the certificate of the Ministry of Justice, Human and Minority Rights, Ke. No. 40/2025 of 19. 03. 2025, in the name of the defendant indicates that he has been convicted several times for various criminal offenses, which indicates that he is a multiple repeat offender, on whom multiple criminal sanctions have not sufficiently influenced him to change his criminal behavior, all of the above constitute circumstances that reasonably indicate that the defendant, if released, will repeat the criminal offense, which justifies ordering detention on the indicated grounds for detention," the decision states.
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