Four detainees will leave the Remand Prison by the end of the year, if first-instance verdicts are not reached in the cases in which they are being tried, the Podgorica High Court told "Vijesti".
Among them, according to the newspaper's unofficial information, are the accused sons of former judicial and police officials - Milos Medenica i Petar Lazovic.
The son of the former president of the Supreme Court Vesne Medenica He is scheduled to be released from custody on October 17th, followed by the son of a long-time secret agent and former assistant director of the Police Directorate. Zoran Lazović.
In the meantime, numerous criminal proceedings have been initiated against Lazović, which may affect the length of his detention.
"Vijesti" yesterday, based on data obtained from the Judicial Council, announced that defendants in 89 special cases who are still in custody could leave the Remand Prison in a few months, if first-instance decisions are not made soon.
All of these court proceedings are "older" than two and a half years, and detention is terminated according to the law if there is no decision within three years of the indictment being filed.
The institution explained that a total of 1.121 people are on trial at the Higher Court in Podgorica for organized crime, corruption and war crimes.
"The Special Department currently has 89 cases older than 2 years and 6 months. However, in order to accurately inform the public, it is important to emphasize that of these 89 cases, not all are pretrial, that is, there are cases where persons are defending themselves from freedom. This court does not keep special records on the total number of persons who are in custody for more than two years and six months. Obtaining this data would require a review of all special cases, which would require significant work and compiling new information, which this court is not authorized to do for the needs of the media," the High Court in Podgorica replied to "Vijesti".
They state that detention is counted from the day of arrest and that "certain persons were deprived of their liberty after the indictment was filed."
"The information available to this court is that by the end of 2025, detention for a period of 3 years from the date of filing the indictment, pursuant to the provisions of Article 179, paragraph 1 of the Criminal Procedure Code, will expire for four persons, in the event of a first-instance decision not being made," explained the Higher Court in Podgorica.
Article 179 of the Law on Criminal Procedure stipulates that, after the submission of the indictment to the court, until the end of the main trial, custody may, in the opinion obtained by the state prosecutor, when the proceedings are conducted on his charge, be determined or terminated only by the decision of the panel and that from the filing of the indictment to of the first-instance verdict, custody can last for a maximum of three years.
ACCUSATIONS
The Special State Prosecutor's Office (SDT) is charging Milos Medenica that he created a criminal organization that, among other things, smuggled cigarettes and influenced court decisions.
According to the claims of special prosecutors, his mother, former Supreme State Prosecutor and President of the Supreme Court Vesna Medenica, was also a member of that criminal group.
The criminal group gathered around them is accused of creating a criminal organization, the aggravated criminal offense of smuggling, the aggravated criminal offense of bribery, accepting a bribe, unlawful influence and incitement to unlawful influence, abuse of official position, unauthorized production, possession and distribution of narcotics, facilitating the consumption of narcotics, unauthorized possession of weapons and explosives, causing serious bodily harm, and preventing the production of evidence.
Included in the indictment are: Marko Vučinić, police officers Darko Lalović i Milorad Medenica, customs officers Ivana Kovačević i Goran Jovanovic, a judge Milica Vlahović Milosavljević, then Vasilije Petrović, Bojan i Marko Popovic, Port of Bakoč, Petar Milutinović, Radomir Raičević, Marjan Bevenja, Stevo Karanikic, Nikola Raičević and the company "Kopad Company" from Nikšić...
They answer before a panel of judges. Vesne Kovačević, who said in the courtroom at the beginning of September that she suspected that Vesna Medenica had obstructed the continuation of the trial in order to help her son Miloš, whose detention expires on October 17th.
In that case, the trial was postponed more than 20 times, and a year and ten months after the indictment was confirmed, the case was taken away from the trial panel presided over by Judge Nada Rabrenović and assigned to the panel of Judge Kovačević.
The delay continued this week - two days ago Miloš Medenica joined the detainees' strike and canceled his power of attorney for his defense attorney.
"My reasons are clear. Two decisions of the Constitutional Court in my favor and four of the Court of Appeal. I am aware that there is a lot of pressure because I am the son of Vesna Medenica, but I thought you would have the professional courage to accept bail. You and I have a historic chance, you as someone who will accept bail for three and a half years, and I as someone who will be released from detention after three and a half years," he said that day in the High Court courtroom.
The son of the former head of the most important police sector, Lazović, was arrested in July 2022 on suspicion of committing several serious crimes - creating a criminal organization, drug and weapons smuggling, unauthorized possession of narcotics, smuggling, unauthorized possession of weapons and explosives, as well as abuse of official position.
According to the claims of the special prosecutor's office, he subordinated the civil service to the interests of the Kavač criminal clan, namely its leader. Happy Switzerland.
Zoran Lazović is also in custody and facing serious charges.
74 detainees are on hunger strike
The latest data from the Directorate for the Execution of Criminal Sanctions shows that as of yesterday, 93 detainees have joined the strike, of which 74 are on hunger strike.
"On September 18, 2025, a total of 93 detainees are participating in a strike in the Podgorica Remand Prison, of which 74 detainees are refusing to take food. All persons participating in the strike are under constant supervision, and their health condition is continuously monitored by the Health Care Sector. We emphasize that the current health condition of all detainees participating in the strike is stable," UIKS announced.
They are instructed to continue implementing all necessary measures to protect the health of detainees, and in this regard, to maintain order and security in the Administration.
The detainees' strike began just a few days after the President of the Higher Court in Podgorica, Zoran Radović, visited them in the Remand Prison and talked to them about the conditions in that part of the prison.
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