The National Security Agency (ANB) has not suspended its operative V. Đ., who is facing charges of domestic violence before the Podgorica Basic Court, "Vijesti" was told unofficially by the secret police.
Officially, the ANB did not want to answer whether they had initiated disciplinary proceedings against that officer, citing the level of secrecy of that information.
The response submitted to the editorial office states that they conducted an "internal procedure to collect relevant data regarding the officer in question" and took certain actions, without specifying what those actions were.
Much more specific was the explanation that the Agency sent to the legal representative of the wife of operative V. Đ. - he was not suspended because, as they stated, his presence at work "does not harm the interests of the National Security Agency."
"At this moment, the conditions for applying the provision of Article 111 of the Law on Civil Servants and Employees have not been met, because the presence of V. Đ. at work does not harm the interests of the National Security Agency, while emphasizing that the National Security Agency is interested in determining all the facts and circumstances in the case that was formed by the Basic State Prosecutor's Office in Podgorica, under the business code Kt.br. 1450/24... It should be noted at this point that it is necessary to respect everything that is the foundation of modern criminal law, the presumption of innocence," it is written in the document sent to the lawyer on January 30 of this year.
Less than three weeks later, the Agency was formally notified that criminal proceedings were being conducted against that officer in the Podgorica Basic Court.
The court's public relations advisor, Ksenija Vuksanović, told "Vijesti" that the acting judge informed the ANB about this on February 10, 2025.
"Which act was received by the National Security Agency on February 17, 02?"
The proceedings before that court have been ongoing since the Basic State Prosecutor's Office in Podgorica filed an indictment against V. Đ. for domestic violence.
His wife told "Vijesti" that she was first beaten seven days before the wedding, after which, she claims, she suffered continuous violence for almost a year, including throughout her pregnancy...
"Seven days before the wedding, I received my first beating. Brutal. Still, I decided to say 'I do' in front of the registrar, believing that what he did to me would never happen again. That day, the makeup artist put on my makeup for hours, trying to cover up the bruises on my body, so that our families and guests wouldn't see them. He controlled even going to the beautician, afraid that I would tell him why I was bruised. After the wedding, my dream of a happy family and a warm home turned into a nightmare. He beat me throughout my entire pregnancy, and he also mentally abused me. I didn't give up, because I wanted our child to grow up with his father and for us to have a happy family. It didn't stop - he beat me in the eighth month of pregnancy, and a few days after giving birth, when he choked me until I started struggling to breathe...", she said.
She added that, always, the morning after the brutal beatings, she received promises that it would not happen again, even that morning.
She went to the police with a one-month-old baby in her arms, when she realized that nothing would change...
After her wife filed a report at the end of September last year, explaining in detail to the prosecutor's office that the violence during that year consisted of both psychological and physical mistreatment and abuse, that her husband threatened her with a loaded service pistol, strangled her..., V. Đ. was deprived of his liberty.
The Podgorica Basic State Prosecutor's Office announced at the time that they had ordered his detention for up to 72 hours due to the continued criminal offense of domestic violence or family violence.
"The suspect beat his wife with open palms and fists for an extended period of time, strangled her and threatened to kill her," they said at the time.
He was not sent to pretrial detention because he was reported for violence committed a year and three months before his wife came to the prosecutor's office...
The proceedings before the Basic Court are ongoing.
Secret police secrets
When asked whether disciplinary proceedings had been initiated against the operative, the ANB responded that all such proceedings are conducted in accordance with the law and internal regulations, and that the public is excluded due to the confidential nature of the data.
"Given that the ANB Law excludes the public from disciplinary proceedings, and that the cases formed during disciplinary proceedings contain confidential data, all cases related to this area, with the exception of statistical data, are marked with the level of confidentiality 'internal'. Therefore, we cannot provide more precise information regarding the question of whether or not disciplinary proceedings were conducted for the officer who is the subject of your interest. However, we inform you that the Agency, as part of the prescribed procedures, carried out a detailed internal procedure for collecting relevant data in relation to the officer in question, which resulted in the undertaking of certain activities," it is written in the responses submitted to "Vijesti" from Ivica Janović's office.
They added that, when the law on the ANB does not specify specific rules, the laws governing the work of police officers and general regulations on civil servants apply.
"According to the records of the competent agency, criminal proceedings are underway against three Agency employees," they said, responding to questions from "Vijesti" about the number of employees against whom disciplinary proceedings are being conducted.
After additional inquiry, they reiterated that they had conducted an internal procedure to collect relevant data and undertaken certain activities, again without specifying what activities were involved.
In the second part of their response, they reiterated that disciplinary proceedings against their employees are conducted in accordance with the provisions of the law and the Rulebook on the Procedure for Determining Disciplinary and Material Liability of National Security Agency Officials, that the public is excluded and that the cases formed during the conduct of these proceedings contain secret information, and that they are marked with the level of secrecy "internal".
"Except for statistical data, they therefore represent data that cannot be publicly published," the secret police said.
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