Former Chief Special Prosecutor Milivoje Katnić claims that the Special State Prosecutor's Office team, as well as individuals from the police who were engaged to cooperate with Europol, falsified evidence and omitted numerous messages from Sky Communications, in order to present him to the public as a member of a criminal group formed by Zoran Lazović.
The trial of former Assistant Director of the Police Administration, Zoran Lazović, Katnić and former special prosecutor Saša Čađenović, who are accused of creating a criminal organization, abuse of official position and money laundering, continued today at the Higher Court in Podgorica.
Katnić proposed that the court obtain the original messages through Europol and present them as evidence. Katnić analyzed the messages via Sky Communication, which were presented in the indictment, and which the prosecutor presented differently in the order for the investigation.
"From the content of the communications between Ljubo Milović and Radoje Zvicer, on December 12 and 29, 2020, it clearly follows that Petar Lazović, the son of Zoran Lazović, never met Zvicer, nor did he become a member of the criminal organization, as the SDT claims in the indictment, nor did he establish cooperation with this criminal organization. Neither did Petar transmit messages between Zvicer and Zoran Lazović, nor did he commit criminal offenses with this criminal organization, as the prosecutor presented it. In order to show the public that Petar Lazović had become a member of Zvicer's criminal organization, the SDT published these communications in 'Vijesti' on January 17, 01, but falsified ones, from which it follows that he had become a member of the OKG. This is a serious abuse and thus creates the impression among the public. There is no evidence in the case files that Petar Lazović, even if he had wanted to, could not have met with Radoje "Zvicer, because he was wounded in Kiev, where he remained for treatment until November or December 2025. So I ask the court to obtain this evidence through the Police Directorate, when Zvicer came to Montenegro after returning from Kiev. It is clear that Petar Lazović is simulating fear, through Ljubo Milović, to gather the main motive for communications and all other relationships he established with Zvicer. Petar Lazović's motive is information about the Kavač clan, where their apartments are, phone numbers, number of members, to recruit them as informants, and which information he delivered to his superiors as soon as possible," said Katnić.
Katnić found out that his arrest was being prepared in an article in "Vijesti" from January 17, 2024, with the headline "Tigar also paid police chiefs."
"Because of all the above, I propose that the content of the text published in 'Vijesti' - 'Tigar also paid police chiefs', which was used to prepare my arrest, be examined as evidence at the main trial," he stated.
Katnić addressed the prosecutor's claims that he protected members of the Kavač clan and that he became a member of the OKG formed by Zoran Lazović, and then analyzed the message from December 3, 2020 between Petar Lazović and Radoje Zvicer, which, as Katnić claims at the trial today, the prosecutor forged.
"The prosecutor claims that I became a member of a criminal group and that this stems from the content of the message: 'And for Duško Roganović, dad asked Kate to leave him out, every pain killed him'. Let's assume that this is true, which it is not, the only thing that emerges from this message is that Zoran Lazović asked Kate to leave Duško out, because he is in a wheelchair, he lost both legs from a planted explosive device, his brother and father, and his uncle were killed. This does not imply that Zoran Lazović formed a criminal organization because of cooperation with Zvicer, nor did he receive money, but because of the misfortunes that befell Duško Roganović. This could only be an abuse of official position for Katnić and nothing more," Katnić emphasized.
He added that SDT hid communications from various participants.
Referring to the communications between Petar Lazović and Zvicer, Katnić believes that the way the prosecutor presents them, they do not constitute communication.
"Because every message that Zvicer sent to Petar Lazović was removed, and the communication lasted 40 minutes. In addition to removing all of Zvicer's messages, the prosecutor also removed three of Petar Lazović's messages, leaving seven, because there were 10 in total. There were one million and 200.000 messages and 300.000 attachments, which the prosecutor hid and falsified. I ask the panel to obtain the originals of this crucial communication for my defense from Europol. This is not done by the SDT alone, but with representatives of the Montenegrin Ministry of the Interior at Europol, so they certainly removed the messages before sending them to Montenegro. Therefore, I ask the court to obtain the originals of all communications that were hidden," said Katnić.
The defendant believes that the messages show that Petar Lazović was "pressured" by Zvicer, which is why he is lying and deceiving him.
"In the message, Zvicer asks Petar why he did not inform him earlier about the arrest of Aleksić, Žmukić, and Petar deceives him and lies that Zoran L. asked Katnić to leave Duško Roganović out. Then Petar L. has to distance himself from these arrests, so he deceives Zvicer that they helped Duško, and this stems from the hidden communication between Ljubo Milović and Zvicer. 'Here is the junior announcing that he is through Kotor,' Zvicer writes, and Milović replies: 'He is driving Dula, I think. 'They have nothing Dula,' Zvicer stated in the message. Both Zvicer and Milović know that Petar Lazović lied. There is no evidence that Milivoje Katnić became a member of a criminal organization and that he prevented the prosecution of the Kavač clan and that he did not prosecute them," Katnić said.
During his defense, Katnić said that the prosecutor falsified the Sky communication, and that he changed some of the messages and deleted some.
Katnić claims that it is clear that high-ranking members of the Kavač clan are talking about him, Saša Čađenović and the then head of the SPO Dragan Radonjić conducting investigations against this criminal organization and arresting them continuously, that is, "full throttle", which does not suit this criminal organization. Katnić quoted messages that he stated were original, and then presented the court with messages from members of the "Kavač clan" in which the "Kavačans" planned to murder him and to physically attack Saša Čađenović.
The decision of the pre-trial panel of the Higher Court in Podgorica confirmed the indictment of the SDT, charging Lazović with having committed the criminal offenses of creating a criminal organization under Article 401a, paragraph 1, in conjunction with paragraph 6 of the Criminal Code of Montenegro, abuse of official position under Article 416, paragraph 1, of the Criminal Code of Montenegro, abuse of official position under Article 416, paragraph 1, in conjunction with Article 23, paragraph 2, of the Criminal Code of Montenegro, the extended criminal offense of money laundering under Article 268, paragraph 1, in conjunction with Article 49 of the Criminal Code of Montenegro, and the extended criminal offense of illegal possession and carrying of weapons and explosives under Article 403, paragraph 2, in conjunction with paragraph 1 in connection with Article 49 of the Criminal Code of Montenegro, and the defendant Katnić is charged with the criminal offense of creating a criminal organization under Article 401a, paragraph 2 in connection with paragraphs 1 and 6 of the Criminal Code of Montenegro, two criminal offenses of abuse of official position under Article 416, paragraph 1 in connection with Article 23, paragraph 2 of the Criminal Code of Montenegro and the criminal offense of illegal possession and carrying of weapons and explosives under Article 403, paragraph 1 of the Criminal Code of Montenegro. According to the panel, the evidence presented in the indictment justifies the existence of reasonable suspicion that the defendants Lazović and Katnić committed the criminal offenses charged against them in the indictment.
Lazović is accused of organizing a criminal organization in 2020, whose members included Katnić, special prosecutor Saša Čađenović, and other unknown individuals, and of collaborating with a criminal organization organized by the disgraced leader of the Kavač clan, Radoje Zvicer.
The former GST is accused of abusing his official position in January 2022, together with the accused prosecutor Čađenović, who was the case handler, and of obtaining benefits for the accused Petar Lazović, police officers Ljubo Milović, Radoje Zvicer and Duško Roganović, and seven other members of that criminal organization.
Dritan as a witness
Analyzing the evidence, Katnić mentioned a photo that was posted on social media, showing him with Saša Čađenović, and then the anonymous author wrote the text: 'Today, Katnić went to a meeting with Dritan the traitor', but that he did not tweet after the meeting.
Then, it was stated that Katnić silenced Abazović "because he knew something about him."
Katnić proposed today that Dritan Abazović testify, to say whether he had ever threatened him.
"We had several meetings, even at my house, to ask if I had blackmailed and threatened him," Katnić said.
"The Kavački clan did not have the protection of the SDT"
In his defense, defendant Milivoje Katnić referred to the messages, which he claims were hidden by the SDT. He read the messages sent by members of the "Kavač clan", and that the SDT planted evidence and arrests for them that "no one would survive".
"Katnić wanted to uproot us," is part of the message that Katnić presented to the court.
The message allegedly sent to the ski by Radoje Zvicer reads:
"They are framing our journalist (the attack on Olivera Lakić). They released Klemp (Jovan Vukotić) for shooting my wife. I don't know why they are saying that the state is protecting us." Regarding these messages sent by Zvicer, Katnić states that they confirm that the "Kavački clan" did not have the protection of the SDT.
In relation to the planning of the attack on special prosecutor Saša Čađenović, the message states that Zvicer wrote: "Just to the head, to damage his head, to leave him disabled. I'll give as much money as they want."
"The SDT hid this message too," claims Katnić.
He added that Duško Roganović asked Radovan Mujović to attack Saša Čađenović, and that this is confirmed by messages that were also hidden by the SDT.
"Last night we attacked the junior for Katnić being on the phone and helping Jovica. He didn't speak, he didn't have any arguments to defend him," this is the message that Katnić read today and claimed was sent by Ljubo Milović, which he said confirms the defense's allegations that Petar Lazović did not work for the "Kavčani" (people from Kavčani).
"I'm thinking about throwing acid on someone's child. I have nothing else to do," is the message sent by an unidentified person, which Katnić read today.
Bonus video:
