During the testimony of Supreme Court of Montenegro judge Vesna Jočić, defendant Vesna Medenica, former president of the Supreme Court, fell ill today in the courtroom at the Higher Court in Podgorica.
This happened about half an hour into the testimony, after which Medenica was immediately taken out of the courtroom.
She was led out of the courtroom by the defendants Darko Lalović, Milorad Medenica and Milan Vučinić.
The president of the special chamber, Judge Vesna Kovačević, adjourned the main trial hearing.
"Please go check on her. Let's adjourn the hearing if necessary, we really won't torture her," the judge said, addressing her defense attorney, attorney Zdravko Begović.
At the beginning of the trial, he informed the trial panel that Medenica had a medical intervention yesterday and that oral surgeon Branko Rašović recommended she rest.
"The woman was completely unable to attend today's hearing, but she still came so that the proceedings would not be delayed," said Begović.
Judge Vesna Kovačević rejected the defense's proposal to terminate the detention of Miloš Medenica and Nikola Raičević.
The trial is scheduled to continue on April 28.
The Special State Prosecutor's Office filed an indictment against the defendants Miloš and Vesna Medenica, Darko Lalović, Vasilij Petrović, Bojan and Marko Popović, Marko Vučinić, Milorad Medenica, Luka Bakoč, Petar Milutinović, Ivana Kovačević, Radomir Raičević, Marjan Bevenja, Stevo Karanikić and Goran Jovanović. and the company "Kopad Company", for criminal acts - creation of a criminal organization, smuggling, giving and receiving bribes, illegal influence and inducing illegal influence, abuse of official position, drug smuggling, illegal possession of weapons, causing serious bodily harm and preventing evidence.
Miloš Medenica is accused of having created a criminal organization in 2019, whose members included his mother Vesna and other defendants, with the aim of smuggling cigarettes and illegally influencing the judiciary, in order to gain illegal profit and power. It is alleged that, in complicity with the defendant members of the criminal organization, he smuggled cigarettes from the Free Customs Zone of the Port of Bar, avoiding customs supervision measures, using false documentation and bribing customs officials.
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