The trial of Dražen P. Vojvodić, accused of the brutal murder of Vidak Vujović, ended today at the Higher Court in Podgorica with the closing arguments of the defense. The presiding judge, Veljko Radovanović, scheduled the first-instance verdict for May 19th.
State Prosecutor Radmila Gačević in the Higher State Prosecutor's Office maintained the allegations in the indictment, but changed the legal qualification for the defendant Novica G. Đikanović, who, according to the new legal qualification, committed "assisting the perpetrator after the criminal act has been committed." This defendant was previously charged with brutal murder.
The defense attorney for the defendant Đikanović, attorney Aleksandra Rogošić, stated in her closing argument that she believes that this legal qualification is entirely based on the presented evidence.
“After the Senior State Prosecutor amended the charges in his closing argument and legally qualified my client’s actions as assisting the perpetrator after the criminal offense was committed under Article 387, paragraph 3 of the Criminal Code of Montenegro, I would first like to point out that I believe that this legal qualification is entirely based on the evidence presented and my client’s confession. From the beginning of these proceedings, he expressed sincere remorse and willingness to fully cooperate. In his statements, he was consistent, did not try to conceal the facts or minimize his role, but rather clearly and precisely described what he did and when, which amounted to providing assistance to the perpetrator after the criminal offense was committed, without prior knowledge or participation in the planning or execution of the criminal offense of murder. During the evidentiary proceedings, no evidence disputed these claims, nor did any of the witnesses charge him with participating in the commission of aggravated murder. On the contrary, all the evidence presented and my client’s confession confirm that his actions were not aimed at complicity or concealment of the commission of the criminal offense, but exclusively "... to aiding the perpetrator after the criminal act of murder has already been committed. Taking into account these circumstances, as well as the fact that my client admitted to committing the criminal act he is charged with, that he expressed sincere remorse and apologized to the injured party's family, that he has no previous convictions, that he is a young man with a family that depends on him, I believe that there are justified legal and moral assumptions that the court, when determining the sentence, should apply the institute of mitigating circumstances to the greatest extent possible. I propose that the court, when determining the sentence, take into account all of the above, and that it imposes the mildest sentence prescribed by law, taking into account the nature and circumstances of the act, the personality of my client, his attitude towards the act, as well as the circumstances under which the aiding was committed," Rogošić emphasized.
The indictment states that on March 31, 03, in the town of Šteke, in Podgorica, the defendant Dražen Vojvodić killed Vujović Vidak in a treacherous and cruel manner, by luring the injured party, according to a previous agreement, to an uninhabited part of the settlement of Šteke, to an inaccessible place. By using their previous acquaintance, the defendant Vojvodić Dražen, driving him to the scene in a "VW Golf V" vehicle, and when the injured party got out of the vehicle, in his direction, fired at least four projectiles from a "CZ M2023" pistol, of which four projectiles hit him. And this was so that between the four projectiles fired, the injured party Vujović Vidak was alive and told the defendant "don't", during which time he suffered severe suffering and severe pain, which the defendant Vojvodić did not do, but continued to fire projectiles at the injured party.
After which the defendant Vojvodić fired a projectile that caused fatal injuries to the injured party, resulting in his death. After that, together with the defendant Đikanović, he poured gasoline on and set fire to the lifeless body of the injured party Vujović Vidak, and then left the scene together. The defendant Vojvodić committed the criminal offense of aggravated murder under Article 144, paragraph 1, item I in conjunction with Article 23, paragraph 2 of the Criminal Code of Montenegro, in conjunction with the criminal offense of illegal possession of weapons and explosives under Article 403, paragraph 1 of the Criminal Code of Montenegro.
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