The verdict against Alija Balijagić for the double murder in Sokolac will be pronounced on December 8th.
This was announced today in the High Court, before which closing arguments were held.
Balijagić previously admitted that on October 25th of last year, he killed his brother and sister Jovan (60) and Milenko Madžgalj (69) with shots from a hunting rifle in their home.
Prosecutor Vanja Rakonjac said that all the evidence presented confirmed that Balijagić committed the crime in the manner described in the indictment.
She recalled that Balijagić confessed to the crime, describing it in detail, and that at the time of the crime, as confirmed by the findings of a psychiatrist and psychologist, he was in a sane state.
"Balijagić described that he returned to the Madžgalja house when it got dark, took a concrete block and placed it under the window, climbed on it and watched the injured parties. He further states that at the moment when Jovan stood up and took the TV remote control in his hands, he shot while he was facing him sideways, emphasizing that he shot Milenko because she called the police, and that he fired the second bullet for humane reasons," said Prosecutor Rakonjac.
She noted that Balijagić said in his statement that he shot Jovan because he was rude to him and that he chased him away from home and told him to "get lost so he doesn't see him again", but that the evidence presented shows that he committed the act in cold blood in a treacherous manner at a moment when they were not expecting it, when they were relaxed in their home, not expecting any attack, and that he acted with direct intent.
"In the DNA analysis by the Forensic Center, Balijagić's traces were found on parts of the window, glass, a handkerchief on the floor, a drawer, the floor, a plastic bucket with cheese... Balijagić's DNA traces were found," said the prosecutor, who requested the harshest sentence under the law for Balijagić.
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Attorney Miladin Joksimović said that the injured party's family believes that the officers of the Regional Center "North" of the Bijelo Polje Military District are equally guilty of the murder, who, although obliged and paid by the state and the people to protect and prevent the commission of criminal offenses, did not do so, even though they had enough time to take actions to prevent the commission of the offense.
Citing a psychological expert report, Joksimović said that Balijagić stated that while they were in the Madžgalj yard, someone called Jovan on the phone, that he concluded that from the conversation he learned that it was not the hunter Drašković (as Balijagić introduced himself to the locals) but Alija Balijagić, whom the police were looking for, and that he then made the decision to deprive them of their lives, which contains elements of murder out of ruthless revenge, because the injured parties did not in any way lead to the aggravating situation of the fugitive.
"It is unclear whether it is heroic behavior to shoot a man who is standing calmly with his back turned or a nurse who is calling for help, and what kind of humanity is involved when two bullets merge into an almost single wound," said Joksimović.
In his favor, Joksimović pointed out, is the only fact that the Law of Montenegro does not provide for the death penalty for such acts, which must exist even if it has never been applied, for such criminal acts.
Balijagić's defense attorney, attorney Rešad Muzurović, said that the court had not sufficiently established his ability to understand the significance of the offense and manage his actions, emphasizing that it was necessary to conduct a super-expert examination through prolonged observation of a man who had spent 32 years in prison, in order to determine the decisive facts and state whether, and to what degree, his ability to understand the significance of the offense and manage his actions was impaired in the decision-making process related to the commission of the criminal offenses in question.
He recalled that observation in a closed institution would have determined the impact of emotional arousal and fear because the police were looking for him at the time, as well as the degree of resentment when Jovan, as he claims, roughly drove him away from home.
"According to the findings of the experts heard before this court, these circumstances did not absolutely affect the ability to understand the significance of the act and manage one's actions, nor were they of any significant influence. That is precisely why, in this specific case, it was necessary to conduct a super expert examination by an authorized institution, which could base its findings on the personality structure after a long observation of the defendant, on the existing medical documentation for the defendant, if any, and not, as the heard experts state, that they did not have access to any medical documentation for the defendant, but that they allegedly accessed the defendant's medical record, although such a statement that any medical record was accessed does not exist anywhere in the findings of these experts," said Muzurović, who requested a lighter sentence for Balijagić.
"When we are in the area of undetermined facts in this legal matter, the defense believes that the facts related to the presence of at least two or three donors on the shell casings found in the room of the now deceased and from which donors the presence of such traces originate have not been sufficiently clarified," said Muzurović.
The representative of the injured family, Velibor Madžgalj, said that the employees of the Regional Center "North" of the BIjelo Polje Military Hospital are to blame for the death of his brother and sister.
"They sent him to do this," he said, recalling that among other failings, the police had enough time to arrest him after he stole a rifle from VB's house.
Balijagić, commenting on lawyer Joksimović's mention of the death penalty, said:
"And I would say the same to him, he can speak in this position now, but if it weren't different, I would answer him this," said Balijagić.
He reiterated that he was sorry for what happened in Sokolac, emphasizing that it was not a case of murder in an insidious manner and that the Forensic Center or the court would never have determined who committed the murder if he had not publicly confessed.
"If I had wanted to, I could have done everything differently so that they would never find me," he said, repeating that he was sorry for killing Jovan and Milenko, and that he had also publicly told Jovan "well, you won't even see anyone again."
He explained that he acquired the rifle and weapons for other people.
"And the thing I regret most of all is that I didn't kill them, those who came around my house with weapons, which the police knew about, because they went to the police with their wives and children to protect them. Where was their courage," Balijagić said in his closing remarks, adding that it should be determined whose other traces were found in the Madžgalj house besides his own, and that this is all being done by state authorities.
He complained that the expert examination did not properly determine his state of sanity, emphasizing that after 32 years in prison, he could not have remained the same man.
"Even if I were 90 percent stupid, the findings would be the same, if I were sane. I am over 65 years old and I know that I will not live like a raven, and that I will not be able to serve any sentence that is imposed on me," Balijagić concluded.
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