It took almost four full years for the pilot of the MUP Helicopter Unit, after numerous court decisions and legal battles, to Igor Delevic be released from disciplinary liability, which was initiated against him because in dramatic events, on September 5, 2021, due to the poor condition of the aircraft, he refused a verbal request to lift the helicopter, which was supposed to transport Metropolitan MCP to the enthronement at the Cetinje Monastery Joannikius and the Patriarch of the Serbian Orthodox Church Porphyry.
The Disciplinary Commission of the Ministry of the Interior issued an acquittal, because during the proceedings no evidence was found that he had committed serious disciplinary liability for refusing to take off a Ministry of the Interior aircraft from Podgorica airport that morning.
The Administrative Court also gave such an opinion on three occasions, which forwarded the decisions to the Disciplinary Commission of the Ministry of the Interior.
Lawyer pilot Miloš Vukčević He told "Vijesti" that the acquittal decision was made after the Administrative Court overturned the Commission's decisions three times.
"Finally, the Disciplinary Commission found the strength to release the honorable pilot Delević. It took almost four years of legal struggle to prove that Delević had not the slightest bit of responsibility or guilt for refusing to transport the clergy to the Cetinje Monastery, that he had never been given a written or verbal order to carry out that task, not even by the then minister." Sekulović nor by his superior director Bešović". Such a factual situation was established from the statements of all witnesses, who confirmed his defense. How could he not carry out the order when it did not even exist," Vukčević emphasized.
The reasoning for the decision confirmed what the lawyer and the Administrative Court claimed - that the pilot could not be held responsible for a serious breach of official duty because he had not formally received a written order.
Pursuant to Articles 6 and 7 of the Instructions on the Use and Utilization of Helicopters and Airplanes of the Ministry of the Interior, there was no order, primarily from the Minister, on the use and utilization of the aircraft.
This conclusion was drawn from the testimony of a witness, a former minister. Sergej Sekulović, Director of the Emergency Situations Sector Miodrag Bešović, former assistant director of UP Miloš Rakonjac and assistant director of police Dragan Gorović.
The former minister stated in his testimony that in his conversation with Bešović, he did not announce the type of aircraft that would be used during the operation, the date and time of takeoff, the route, or the purpose of the flight, but only said that "the helicopter should be ready."
These claims were confirmed by Delević's direct superior, Director Bešović, who, according to the hierarchy, was the only one authorized to give work tasks and orders to the pilot.
During the proceedings, it was determined that such orders could not have been issued by assistant Miloš Rakonjac because he was not a direct superior to the pilots.
Pilots of the MUP Helicopter Unit Igor Delević and Drazen Vlahovic They were suspended on September 6, 2021, and disciplinary proceedings were initiated against them for refusing to fly by helicopter to Cetinje due to worrying security assessments.
Metropolitan MPC and Patriarch Porfirije could only be transported from Podgorica to Cetinje by helicopter that morning, because several thousand citizens protested against the enthronement, which caused all approaches to the city to be blocked.
After the MUP pilots refused a verbal order to lift the helicopter, because they believed that the aircraft was not in operational condition, the Government engaged helicopters from the Army of Montenegro, which, along with strong police forces and under bulletproof blankets, brought the priests to the Cetinje Monastery.
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