The Court of Appeals overturned the verdict of the Higher Court in Podgorica, which sentenced Slavko Stojanović to a single prison sentence of three years and eight months.
The statement from the Court of Appeal states that the appeal of defense attorney Stojanović was upheld and the case was returned to the first instance court for a retrial.
"By the first-instance verdict, the accused Slavko Stojanović was found guilty of committing the criminal offense of abuse of official position and the criminal offense of illegal possession of weapons and explosives and sentenced to a single prison sentence of 3 years and 8 months," the Court of Appeal announced.
Appeals against the verdict were filed by the Special State Prosecutor's Office and Stojanović's defense attorney.
"In the appeals process, the Court of Appeals determined that the first-instance verdict was affected by significant violations of the provisions of criminal procedure, which are described in detail in the reasoning of the decision, the consequence of which is the annulment of the first-instance verdict and the return of the case to the first-instance court for a retrial. The first-instance court was instructed that it is necessary to eliminate significant violations of the provisions of criminal procedure in the retrial, present all previously presented evidence and others it finds necessary, and after doing so, through a comprehensive analysis and proper assessment of all presented evidence, both individually and in their mutual connection, establish all decisive facts, and provide clear reasons for them, all with the aim of making a lawful and proper decision," the statement reads.
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