Veljović: Belivuk and Miljković were not a threat to security because they were under surveillance

Former Police Directorate Director Veselin Veljović testified today at the Higher Court in Podgorica in the continuation of the trial of former Police Directorate official Zoran Lazović, former Chief Special Prosecutor Milivoj Katnić and Special Prosecutor Saša Čađenović, for creating a criminal organization, abuse of official position and money laundering.

Veljović told the special panel, chaired by judge Veljko Radovanović, that Veljko Belivuk and Marko Miljković were not a threat to the national security of Montenegro, because they were under surveillance.

He stated that during his mandate, there was no clearly defined procedure for banning foreign citizens from entering Montenegro, which influenced decisions in the case of the entry of Veljko Belivuk and Marko Miljković in 2020.

He said that in the same circumstances, he would have acted as his colleagues did and lifted the entry ban on Belivuk and Miljković, because they did not pose a threat to national security, considering that they were under surveillance.

Former Director of the Police Administration Veselin Veljović, who held this position until December 17, 2020, explained that during his mandate there was no clearly defined procedure for banning foreign citizens from entering Montenegro, which influenced the decisions in the case of Veljko Belivuk and Marko Miljković's entry in 2020.

He said that the so-called operational measures were under the jurisdiction of the Police Directorate, but that the legal regulations did not precisely regulate the procedure for their implementation.

“The police regularly exchanged information with security services from the region and even with Serbia,” Veljović said. He stated that there were three key reasons why Belivuk and Miljković were not banned from entering, namely the interest of the Serbian security services, the fact that at that moment they were treated as members of a fan group, and the fact that they had not committed any criminal offenses in Montenegro. He added that the procedure for issuing a decision on banning entry is complex and requires the opinion of other competent authorities.

"I remember that the former Assistant Director of the Police Administration, Zoran Lazović, had international meetings in Serbia, Banja Luka, but also at the EUROPOL headquarters in The Hague. These meetings were secret and confidential information was exchanged. I believe that EUROPOL would not accept sharing data with a person for whom it had any reservations," Veljović pointed out.

He added that he had international cooperation with directors from numerous countries and that there were never any negative observations at those meetings about police officers, his assistants, or the then Chief Special Prosecutor Milivoj Katnić and Special Prosecutor Saša Čađenović.

The trial continues on April 16.

"Petar Lazović did his job professionally"

Veselin Veljović spoke in court today about Petar Lazović's transfer from the National Security Agency to the Police Directorate. He said he was not sure whether he had personally spoken to him about it, but that he had certainly communicated with the then director of the ANB. He added that he did not speak with Zoran Lazović during that period, perhaps later, and that these contacts did not influence the transfer process itself, but that decisions were made within the framework of institutional procedures.

"Petar Lazović's transfer from the ANB to the Police Directorate was not an exception, but a result of the needs of the service," said Veljnović.

He added that several officers transferred to the police during that period, and Lazović was considered to have performed his job professionally.