The Special State Prosecutor's Office (SDT) did not harm the reputation and honor of Ana Pešukić from Nikšić, accused of stealing jewelry and gold from Aco Đukanović's house, so the state does not need to pay her the requested 10.000 euros, the Podgorica Higher Court ruled.
That court rejected Pešukić's appeal against the verdict of the Podgorica Basic Court, which found that Pešukić's request to be paid compensation for non-pecuniary damage - violation of her personal rights, honor and reputation - was unfounded.
Pešukić, who is now being charged by the Basic State Prosecutor's Office (ODT) with the theft of jewelry and gold worth more than 300.000 euros from the house of the brother of former head of state Milo Đukanović, sued the SDT, claiming that there was no public interest in special prosecutors publicly presenting information about the investigation during a press conference on October 15, 2020, and that "information about thefts in Montenegro has never been presented in such a way."
In her appeal to the High Court, she emphasized that "undoubtedly everything was done with the aim of discrediting and harming her personality, bearing in mind that it was the brother of the president of the state who was harmed."
She was arrested on April 2, 2020, after admitting to stealing jewelry from her then-employer's home. She also claimed at the time that the total value was not what she was charged with.
The case was then transferred from the Podgorica ODT to the SDT, and retired special prosecutor Stojanka Radović filed an indictment in October 2020, stating that it was an organized criminal organization through which RF incited Pešukić to exploit the trust of the Đukanović family and steal a large amount of gold, jewelry, gold coins, and gold watches from the closet of their apartment.
During the review of the indictment, the High Court acquitted RF and Pešukić of the charges of creating a criminal organization and confirmed part of the indictment for the criminal offenses of aggravated theft, aggravated theft by incitement, and abuse of official business in business transactions.
The case of the theft from the Đukanović house in late 2023 was forwarded to the Basic Court in Podgorica, and this was done after the special department of the Podgorica High Court declared itself incompetent...
In her appeal to the Higher Court, Pešukić stated that "it is unclear how the first instance court finds that there is no causal link between the fact that she submitted medical documentation about the mental suffering she suffered after everything that SDT did."
She stated that the Basic Court claimed in the first instance verdict that "the information presented at the conference was accurate, while failing to conclude that this was precisely how the presumption of innocence was violated, and that upon subsequent review of the indictment, precisely the part of the information concerning the criminal organization was declared incorrect."
"Regarding the specific case, the prosecutor's office announced that there is a reasonable suspicion that criminal offenses were committed in an organized manner and that the case is in the investigation phase, using the initials of persons for whom there is a reasonable suspicion that they are organizers and members of a criminal group, and not their full names and surnames, so the prosecutor's office, as the first instance court correctly found, did not directly reveal the identity of the plaintiff and did not use language that would prejudice guilt, or violate the presumption of innocence," the Higher Court ruling, which "Vijesti" had access to, states.
The explanation also states that informing the public about investigations into organized crime represents a legitimate interest, and that there is no evidence of the prosecution's intention to discredit Pešukić.
The Podgorica High Court also pointed out that the Basic Court acted correctly when it rejected Pešukić's request for compensation for non-pecuniary damage.
They also recall that on October 15, 2020, the SDT held a press conference regarding the results of the work of that prosecutor's office, during which details were presented for certain investigations that the prosecutor's office was conducting during that period.
The High Court ruling states that retired special prosecutor Radović then spoke about the case related to the theft of valuables from the house of the brother of the President of Montenegro, stating that the prosecutor's office launched an investigation due to reasonable suspicion that a criminal organization was formed in 2019, organized by RF, and its members PA and R. Č. and other unknown persons, which operated until the beginning of April 2020, when it was discovered, and which allegedly aimed to "commit an unspecified number of criminal offenses against property, aggravated theft under Art. 240 of the Criminal Code of Montenegro, for the purpose of acquiring illegal profit and power."
"The first instance court did not grant the plaintiff's request, finding that the defendant did not infringe on the plaintiff's honor and reputation in this specific case, or that she did not cause her non-pecuniary damage in the form of a violation of her personal rights, basing its decision on the provisions of Articles 207 and 210 of the Law on Obligations, and Articles 8 and 10 of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. And according to this court, the first instance court acted correctly when it decided in the manner described," the verdict states.
The trial against Pešukić before the Podgorica Basic Court for theft is ongoing.
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