The Higher Court in Podgorica will hear medical expert Dr. Nemanja Radojević, who will testify about the injuries sustained by the defendant Haris Kočan, the panel of judge Dragan Babović decided today.
For this reason, the start of the main trial hearing was postponed to September 17th.
The trial of the defendant Haris Kočan is scheduled to begin today, for the criminal offense of aggravated murder in an attempt to the detriment of Nikola Drecun and Igor Mašanović and the murder of Radovan Marković, and the defendant Vanja Burda for aiding Kočan after the murder of Radovan Marković.
Before the defendant Kočan began his defense, his defense attorney, attorney Branko Anđelić, proposed to the court that the minutes of Kočan's hearing before the Higher State Prosecutor's Office be removed from the case file. He then gave the court the reasons for the proposal.
"The defense proposes to separate the record of Haris Kočan's interrogation at the Higher State Prosecutor in Podgorica on April 4, because he did not have a defense attorney at the time. We think it is appropriate to separate it before the defense presents its case. In that statement, he admitted to another criminal offense that was not included in the criminal report at all, related to Drecun and Mašanović. The accused Kočan was giving a statement while being beaten. This was noted by the investigating judge, Judge Goran Šćepanović, when the injuries were observed. Kočan told the investigating judge about the torture of police officers and those injuries were visible. Expert witness Dr. Nemanja Radojević photographed the injuries and described the dynamics and manner in which the injuries occurred," attorney Anđelić stated before the court.
Prosecutor Snežana Šišević opposed the defense's proposal and explained.
"During the hearing with this prosecutor at the State Prosecutor's Office, the suspect Haris Kočan was informed of his rights and was specifically asked by this prosecutor how he was treated by the police. I will quote Kočan's statement: 'No one threatened me in the police and everything was normal'. There were no visible injuries during the hearing itself, nor did I notice any, because if I had, I would have immediately ordered Kočan to be examined, as I did in the case of Burda, who had injuries, which he said were sustained while making his way through the forest," the prosecutor pointed out.
The Marković family's attorney, attorney Srđan Lješković, supported the prosecutor's proposal.
After a break, the court ruled to hear Dr. Nemanja Radojević, who provided the findings on April 2024, 17, and described Haris Kočan's injuries, and will give his statement at the main hearing on September XNUMX, explained Judge Dragan Babović.
The indictment alleges that on November 20, 2023, at around 18.30:40.000,00 p.m., the defendant Haris Kočan, with intent for selfish gain, attempted to assassinate Igor Mašanović and Nikola Drecun. By accepting a proposal from an unknown person, who hired him to fire a projectile from an RPG-70.000,00 rocket launcher into a vehicle at a predetermined location in the municipality of Cetinje for an unspecified amount of money, ranging from 7 to 20 euros. The indictment alleges that on November 2023, 7, in the afternoon, carrying the marked RPG-144 rocket launcher in his hands, he waited in ambush for the vehicle carrying Mašanović and Drecun. When he spotted them, he fired an anti-tank anti-armor grenade from the aforementioned firearm, which hit the ground in front of the passenger side of the vehicle. By doing so, he committed the criminal offense of attempted aggravated murder under Article 4, paragraphs 8 and 20, in conjunction with Article 403 of the Criminal Code of Montenegro, and the criminal offense of illegal possession of weapons and explosives under Article 3, paragraph 2, in conjunction with paragraphs 1 and XNUMX of the Criminal Code of Montenegro.
The second count of the indictment states that on March 03, 03, in the town of Meterizi near the main road Podgorica - Cetinje, the defendant Kočan intentionally killed the injured party Radovan Marković. While he was in the vehicle with the injured party, sitting in the back seat, and Marković in the driver's seat, while the vehicle was in motion, he fired several projectiles from an automatic rifle in the direction of the injured party, two of which hit Marković in the back, resulting in death.
The defendant Kočan committed the criminal offense of murder under Article 143 of the Criminal Code of Montenegro and the criminal offense of illegal possession and carrying of weapons and explosives, and the defendant Burda Vanja committed the criminal offense of assisting the perpetrator after the commission of a criminal offense under Article 387, paragraph 2 in conjunction with paragraph 1 of the Criminal Code of Montenegro and the criminal offense of illegal possession and carrying of weapons and explosives.
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