Families of detainees gathered in front of the High Court in Podgorica today in support of detainees in the Administration for the Execution of Criminal Sanctions (UIKS) who are on strike due to excessive detention.
The journalists present were addressed by lawyer Nikola Tomković, as well as Nataša Pejaković, the mother of Žarko Pejaković, who was killed on November 6th last year together with Petar Lipovina at a roundabout on the Cetinje-Podgorica road.
"The families of the detainees have gathered here to show solidarity with their members, who are in the Spuž Remand Prison. You can see that they are exhausted both materially, mentally and physically. The detainees are persistent in their strike, they will continue with it. If you have their strike, an announcement of a strike by UIKS employees, if you have an announcement of a strike by the Administration and Judiciary Union, it means that something is wrong and that something must change. You know what the conditions in the prison are like. The situation is getting more and more difficult, but we expect some dialogue and that the situation will be resolved in some way that would be satisfactory for both sides. At the end of the day, we will have information on how many powers of attorney have been revoked," Tomković pointed out.
Nataša Pejaković told reporters that she was here to support the protest on behalf of her family and her son.
"He was killed in broad daylight, at a place where a police team was present, which, I still maintain what I have maintained from day one, was there to enable the executioners to do their job. Because both Lalatović and Zimmerman are their mercenaries. No one has approached me to ask me why my claims are as they are. They were there and that they could escape. How did these people manage to end up in Spain and Paris? You know, when Filip Knežević from Cetinje was killed, stories circulated around Cetinje that Lalatović committed the murder. The whole of Cetinje is talking about it. I have no evidence for that, I am just relaying the claims of people who are probably more knowledgeable about it than I am. I am here to support the protest on behalf of my family and on behalf of Žark. I would like to ask everyone, first of all, with a minute of silence, to support the mothers of those who died, to be persistent, to get to the truth. And now I have to be morbid and ask if one "My hair is sticking out, do I have a glare, like Minister Šaranović does? What is the solution for us and what answers does the government give us? Minister Šaranović comes out and says 'the case is solved, we have identified the murdered'. Is this the way to solve the problems in our country? Is this the way to protect children? But we are the ones who elected this government and we are the ones who need to be persistent in changing them, if we mean well for our children," said Pejaković.
She added that her son spent more than five and a half years in detention.
"If someone is guilty, they should be held accountable. To bear responsibility, to atone for their sins. But to extend detention indefinitely, until judgment day, to not provide them with adequate defense, to place and arrange witnesses for them, I claim, paid witnesses. Such was the case with my child," she claims.
He also believes that investigations and trials are being deliberately obstructed.
"You are all familiar with the demands of the strikers, who are asking, in my opinion, for the right to life. Until proven guilty, they are innocent. How long has our law determined the duration of detention? Are these detentions being respected? They go on indefinitely. All they have to do is remain in detention until judgment day, without the opportunity to present their defenses, which are being postponed indefinitely. Lawyers are not coming. They are deliberately obstructing both the investigations and the trials," said Nataša Pejaković.
A group of detainees in the Spuž Remand Prison have been on hunger strike for more than two weeks. More than a hundred of them are dissatisfied with the conditions and the conduct of the court proceedings, and 89 of them are refusing food. At the same time, the number of those who are canceling their powers of attorney for their defense attorneys is growing.
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