Bogdanović: Why have surveillance measures if they are violated without consequences?

The President of the Democratic Party of Representatives, Boris Bogdanović, said that citizens have the right to ask - why are there surveillance measures, if they are violated without consequences.

"The police determine that members of an organized crime group have violated the active supervision measure of the High Court, a ban on leaving the place of residence. The police immediately inform the acting judge about this. And instead of the court sending a message that the law is stronger than crime, the police receive a response from the court: 'there is no basis for a measure prohibiting them from leaving the apartment with electronic surveillance, release them without detention,'" Bogdanović announced.

He spoke out after the Police Directorate announced tonight that Nemanja Zurovac from Novalja and Aleksandar Đurđevac from Nikšić, members of criminal organizations, were caught during a search in Kotor violating the measures - leaving their place of residence, which were imposed on them by the Higher Court in Podgorica. Despite this, the two did not receive any sanctions, because the Higher Court judge stated that there was no basis for ordering detention, that is, to release them without further detention, since they had already spent three years in detention as defendants since the indictment was filed.

"Citizens have the right to ask: why surveillance measures, if they are violated without consequences? Why police work, operational data, risk and effort, if in the end the message is sent that violating court measures is a 'passing station'? And most importantly: who takes responsibility if a new crime occurs tomorrow, escape, intimidation of witnesses or the disappearance of the defendants," said Bogdanović.

He also asked a few questions.

"Is it normal for the High Court's oversight measure to be violated without the violation being sanctioned with stricter measures? Who protects the meaning of court decisions if their violation is treated as a secondary matter? Does the third branch of government need a vetting mechanism as a mechanism for checking integrity, impartiality, and resistance to influence precisely because of cases like these that undermine public trust," asked the Democratic MP.

He added that "the Director of the Police Administration, Lazar Šćepanović, is not to blame because the police acted according to the law and informed the court."

"The blame is not shifted to those who are doing their job. The problem arises where the chain of responsibility is broken. If the police have determined a violation of measures, and the court decides that there are no grounds for detention, the public deserves a clear, reasoned and convincing explanation, not a shallow message that seems to reward crime by tiring the system. We call on the competent judicial authorities and the Judicial Council to urgently state the standards in such situations and to explain to citizens: has the state decided that surveillance measures only apply to "ordinary people", and that other rules apply to OKG? Because, if the message is that violating measures ends with release, then this is not a state governed by the rule of law. This is an invitation to repeat violations. We will not remain silent in the face of decisions that undermine the fight against organized crime," said Bogdanović.