Former boxer's name Nikola Sjekloce is no longer on the criminal record of the Ministry of Justice after the president of the country Jakov Milatovic made a decision on his rehabilitation.
This, among other things, opens up the possibility for him to once again become a beneficiary of the lifetime monthly allowance to which he is legally entitled, as one of the most trophy-winning Montenegrin boxers.
Former DPS Minister of Sports Nikola Janović, that privilege was frozen in 2020, after he was convicted of illegal possession of a weapon, namely four bullets.
Previously, Sjekloća's status as a top athlete was established by a decision of the Ministry of Sports in mid-June 2018.
After the privilege was revoked, he appealed, stating that "the four bullets that belonged to his late father," for which he was arrested and sentenced to community service, did not constitute a legal basis for revoking the lifetime pension he had earned as a top athlete.
Sjekloća told Vijesti yesterday that he had served the community service sentence he was sentenced to in 2020, and that when the conditions were met, he submitted a request for pardon.
"I am grateful to the president and the minister of justice for pardoning me and erasing my sentences. I think those sentences were more politically motivated, because I did nothing to deserve being punished, let alone having my pension frozen by those sentences," said Sjekloca.
He added that he was punished for participating in the Budva protests in 2020 and "four bullets found in an old jar."
"My pension has not yet been returned, but I believe that the injustice will be righted," he said.
The President of the country pardoned Sjekloća after a positive opinion from the Ministry of Justice.
According to information from "Vijesti", work on the case began during his term in office. Andrej Milović, who on May 16, 2024, gave a positive opinion for the rehabilitation of the citizen of Budva.
Almost a year later, on April 2, Milatović resigned from the department he now heads. Bojan Bozovic, requested a statement - whether any other proceedings are being conducted against Sjekloća for a criminal offense for which prosecution is being undertaken ex officio, but also whether they are sticking to the submitted proposal, "Vijesti" has learned unofficially.
The same source explains that Milatović was told at the end of May that no criminal proceedings were being conducted against the boxer in any Montenegrin court, and that there were no circumstances that would require them to make a new proposal for pardon or rehabilitation.
According to the Law on Pardon, the President of Montenegro grants pardons.
The application is submitted to the Ministry of Justice, which, after collecting the data, writes a reasoned proposal and submits it to the president along with the application.
Based on this act, a pardon grants exemption from criminal prosecution or full or partial exemption from serving a sentence, then replaces the imposed sentence with a lighter sentence or suspended sentence, provides rehabilitation, but also determines a shorter duration of certain legal consequences of the sentence, or abolishes some or all legal consequences of the sentence.
"A pardon may abolish or shorten the duration of security measures such as the ban on performing professions, activities and duties, the ban on driving a motor vehicle and the expulsion of foreigners from the country," the Law on Pardons states.
Pardon or confidence in the work of the ministry
Explaining why they erased Sjekloca's sentence, Milatović's cabinet justified themselves by saying that they were taking into account all positive proposals from the Ministry of Justice, because, as they claim, they were expressing confidence in their work.
They did not specifically answer questions about the rehabilitation of the most decorated Montenegrin boxer, but instead emphasized that they have limitations arising from regulations on the protection of personal data.
"We would like to point out that since the beginning of his term, the President of the State has accepted all positive proposals for pardons made and submitted by the Ministry of Justice. This has shown confidence in the work of the Ministry in assessing and determining relevant facts and circumstances in specific cases. In all cases concerning the pardon procedure, the President has acted within the limits of his Constitutional and legal powers," said Jakov Milatović's office.
They noted that "the President of Montenegro has not released a convicted person from serving a sentence for a criminal offense in any case."
"Previous pardons have been exclusively about rehabilitation, i.e. erasing sentences already served from records," they pointed out.
Only the president can grant clemency.
The department headed by Božović was also brief in its responses. They explained that information on pardons is the responsibility of the person in charge of the pardon process - the President of Montenegro.
"In this regard, we would like to inform you that Article 16, paragraph 4 of the Law on Pardons regulates the manner of providing information regarding pardons, as well as the type of information, and stipulates that the president is obliged to publish on the president's website the number of pardon decisions and the structure of decisions by criminal offenses, by 31 January of the current year for the previous year," the Ministry of Justice said.
They explained that in accordance with Article 12 of the Law on Pardon, the Minister of Justice drafts a reasoned proposal for pardon:
"And after considering and evaluating the allegations in the submitted application, as well as the collected data."
They also emphasized that the president is not bound by the proposal of the Minister of Justice as to whether or not a pardon request should be granted.
"The proposal thus prepared, together with the application, shall be submitted to the President of Montenegro, who, based on Article 95, paragraph 1, item 9 of the Constitution of Montenegro and Articles 1, 2 and 3 of the Law on Pardon, shall make a decision to accept or reject the application for pardon. Accordingly, the President of Montenegro is not bound by the proposal of the Minister of Justice as to whether the application for pardon should be accepted or not."
Božović's department pointed out that Article 43 of the Constitution stipulates that the protection of personal data is guaranteed and that the use of personal data beyond the purpose for which it was collected is prohibited.
"Finally, we appreciate that disclosing information about those who have applied for pardon would constitute acting contrary to the Constitution of Montenegro and the aforementioned law," the Ministry of Justice said.
Arrest, pension cancellation and lawsuit
Budva resident Nikola Sjekloća's status as a top athlete was established by a decision of the Ministry of Sports on June 14, 2018, while his lifetime monthly allowance was approved a day later by a decision of the then Minister Nikola Janović.
The boxer was arrested on June 24, 2020 in Budva, and footage of police brutality was released to the public, and a day later he was sentenced to two months of house arrest...
He told the media at the time that he had suffered pressure for participating in protests and marches.
Less than two months later, Janović's department began, as they explained, with a new check of the conditions for further exercising the right to a lifetime monthly allowance. This happened during the greatest political crisis in Budva, when protests took place in that coastal town, in which Sjekloća actively participated, opposing the fact that the Democratic Party of Socialists had forcibly removed the government led by the Democratic Front and the Democrats...
Sjekloć's national pension was taken away after a new check, and the boxer then announced that he would resolve the matter through court.
"I was sentenced to community service for four bullets. The law regulating the national pension does not provide for this possibility. It can be taken away from athletes who commit riots at sports competitions, participants in doping scandals, and those convicted of serious crimes. No provision mentions alternative sanctions, such as the one I was sentenced to for four bullets that belonged to my late father. Minister Janović told me that he was not even aware of the criminal offense for which I was convicted, nor did he know anything about the details of how it came about. I think he should have known before making this decision," the boxer said at the time.
Sjekloća was once a councilor candidate on the Democratic list in the local elections in Budva.
Targeted by killers and police?
Sjekloća has been the target of police searches on several occasions, and during some of them, the security institution officially announced that they were searching the apartments and cars of members of organized crime groups and people associated with them.
According to investigators, in 2018, Sjekloća was the target of an organized crime group that planned his liquidation.
That criminal offense is charged to the group allegedly hired by Adnan Osmanagić from Barana and Đorđije Cicmil from Budva.
According to the files of the Special State Prosecutor's Office, Osmanagić promised Enzan Ciriković from Peć a reward of 20.000 euros if he killed Baranin Jovan Đurović, while Cicmil offered him 50.000 euros for the murder of Sjekloća and another person from Rafailović.
In addition to Ciriković and Osmanagić, Almir Jahović, Mirza and Eldar Nurković, and Darko Milić are also accused.
According to SDT files, in August and September 2018, Cicmil hired suspects to kill Sjekloća.
At the end of May 2019, Sjekloća was returned from the Belgrade airport because, it was announced at the time, although he had a match scheduled in the Serbian capital, his safety could not be guaranteed in that country.
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