Eight months after all the defendants in the "Tunnel" case were acquitted of charges for digging an underground passage to the depot of the Higher Court in Podgorica, the second-instance decision has not yet been made, because it was only determined on May 11 that the court that, according to the indictment, was the aggrieved party in that case, does not decide on the prosecution's appeal.
The Court of Appeals ruled that the appeal of the Basic State Prosecutor's Office (ODT) in Podgorica should be decided by the High Court in Bijelo Polje, and not the High Court in Podgorica - due to the need for objective and impartial proceedings.
The court told "Vijesti" that on May 7, the Higher Court in Podgorica submitted the documents to the Court of Appeal, requesting that another court be designated to decide on the appeal, bearing in mind that the defendants were charged with committing criminal offenses to the detriment of the Higher Court in Podgorica.
"Appreciating the fact that the defendants are charged with having committed the criminal offenses in question to the detriment of the Higher Court in Podgorica, and that due to objective and impartial proceedings upon the appeal filed, it was necessary and lawful to order that the Higher Court in Bijelo Polje decide on the said appeal," the Court of Appeals' response states.
They explained that the decision was made on May 11th and that no appeal was allowed against it.
The order of the story is different.
The chronology of the courts' responses, however, shows that the case did not reach the court that would decide the appeal for months.
In March, "Vijesti" asked the Bijelo Polje High Court what decision had been made in that case, to which they replied that the case had not been received.
After that, on March 18, "Vijesti" asked the Podgorica Basic Court why the appeal had not yet been submitted to the second-instance instance, and they then replied that the procedural prerequisites for this had not been met, because the first-instance decision and the appeal had not been duly submitted to all parties in the proceedings.
"The first-instance decision and appeal have still not been properly delivered to all parties in the proceedings, which is a necessary condition for sending the file to the second-instance court," the Basic Court announced at the time.
Two days ago, "Vijesti" again asked the High Court in Bijelo Polje whether the case had been submitted to them for a decision on the appeal. The court replied that the case had not yet been submitted.
After that, the Basic Court in Podgorica responded to "Vijesti" that the "Tunnel" case was submitted to the Higher Court in Podgorica for a decision on appeals, and then on May 7 to the Court of Appeal, which decided on May 11 to assign the case to the Higher Court in Bijelo Polje.
The motive was never determined.
On October 3rd last year, Judge Borko Lončar of the Basic Court in Podgorica issued an acquittal at first instance, acquitting Katarina Baćović, Marjana Vuljaja, Nikola Milačić, Predrag Mirotić, Vladimir Eric, Veljko Marković, Milan Marković i Dejan Jovanovic charges in that case.
The case was filed in connection with the digging of a tunnel from the basement of an apartment on Njegoševa Street in Podgorica to the High Court depot, from which, according to the indictment, objects and evidence were taken.
According to the investigation, the High Court depot was broken into on September 8, 2023, and material evidence from that room was removed by September 11. Investigators claimed that the tunnel had been dug since late July.
Explaining the verdict, Judge Lončar said that there was no evidence that the accused committed the crimes they are charged with.
He stated that no DNA traces of the accused were found in the tunnel and the archives of the High Court depot, nor any other evidence that could lead to the conclusion that they dug the tunnel or participated in the commission of criminal acts.
"There is only a degree of suspicion that they are seen on camera moving through the city, but there is no concrete evidence," Lončar said during the sentencing.
The judge then assessed that the tunnel digging was "the greatest shame of the security sector in Montenegro", but stressed that the court could not issue a guilty verdict without evidence.
He also said that the motive for digging the tunnel was never determined.
During the sentencing, Lončar stated that the value of the items that were, according to the indictment, taken from the depot was around 11.000 euros, assessing that this could hardly be the real motive for such a serious and risky undertaking.
The court also noted that the tunnel was not discovered by security services, but by accident - when a court clerk noticed a search and an opening leading to an underground passage during a census.
Lončar also pointed out that the tunnel was filled in at the end of September 2023 by decision of the Government, which, according to the court, prevented further investigative procedures and analysis.
"The tunnel remains a disgrace, both to those who dug it and to those who enabled it to happen - whether by action or inaction," the judge said during the sentencing.
Basic State Prosecutor Marko Mugoša In his closing arguments, he requested that all the accused be found guilty.
He said at the time that this was an "attack on the state" and the Montenegrin judiciary, stating that the indictment proved that the accused had various roles in digging the tunnel, breaking into the depot, and taking away the items.
"At the end of this process, it is obvious that we do not know the whole truth, but certain facts have been revealed. An incredible and cinematic story that is difficult to imagine in reality, and which happened in a country that strives to be developed. It is sad and devastating," Mugoša said in his closing remarks.
The prosecutor claimed that the goal of digging the tunnel and breaking into the depot was to gain illegal gain, but also that unknown persons participated in the execution, whose names, he said, will probably never be revealed.
"Everything stated in the indictment has been proven. The audacity of those who were willing to do this in their own country is incredible. This act represents an attack on the Montenegrin judiciary," Mugoša said.
According to the indictment, the Markovićs, Jovanović, Erić, Mirotić and Milačić were charged with criminal association in conjunction with aggravated theft as co-perpetrators.
Mirotic and murder
Three months ago, the Higher State Prosecutor's Office (VDT) charged Mirotic with aggravated murder by aiding and abetting murder. Stefana Belade i Andrija Ivanovic in Cetinje. According to the prosecution, Mirotic acquired and activated a GPS device that was used to track the movements of the victims before the liquidation.
Baćović was charged with criminal association in conjunction with aggravated theft and document forgery, while Vuljaj was charged with assisting the perpetrator after the crime was committed.
Limited movement radius
Construction expert Tanja Drakulovic She said during the trial that she arrived at the scene on September 12, 2023, but that she was not allowed to measure the dimensions of the tunnel at that time.
She stated that she was told by members of the Police Directorate (PD) that she would receive all the case files, which is why she conducted the expert examination based on those files and what she could directly observe at the scene. In her report, she stated that her range of motion was limited, that she could not take measurements, examine surfaces and materials by touch, take photographs of the scene, or re-examine the scene after the investigation was completed.
Tunnel buried on October 7th
The government decided to bury the tunnel on September 28, 2023, which was done on October 7 of the same year.
The government then announced that, after the ODT informed the UP that the on-site investigation was completed and gave consent for construction work to be carried out, it tasked the Cadastre and State Property Administration with carrying out the procedure for restoring the terrain to its original condition.
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