Former ANB chief Dejan Peruničić sentenced to five years in prison

Former director of the National Security Agency (ANB), Dejan Peruničić, was sentenced to five years in prison for ordering the illegal wiretapping and surveillance of former opposition leaders, journalists, and church dignitaries from late 2019 until the elections on August 30, 2020.

Secret service operative Srđa Pavicevic was sentenced to one year and four months in prison for illegal filming and surveillance on the verbal orders of the former head of the ANB.

The verdict was handed down in the Higher Court in Podgorica, after a court proceeding in which the public was excluded.

Peruničić was convicted for illegally abusing his official position and authority as the Director of the National Security Agency between December 2019 and August 2020, because, contrary to the Law on the National Security Agency and without the approval of the President of the Supreme Court of Montenegro or the judge replacing him, he issued oral orders to unknown Agency officials to implement surveillance of electronic communications for telephone numbers.

In doing so, he seriously violated their rights to respect for private and family life, guaranteed by the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms and the Constitution of Montenegro.

The official statement of the Higher Court, published on the website of that institution, states that the court did not accept the proposal of the SDT to order the defendant Peruničić to be detained on the grounds of detention under Article 175, paragraph 1, item 5 of the Criminal Procedure Code after the pronouncement of the first-instance verdict, but instead ordered the defendant to undergo supervision measures under Article 166 of the Criminal Procedure Code - a ban on leaving the place of residence and mandatory reporting to a state authority - the Police Directorate of Montenegro, Podgorica Regional Police Headquarters.

The first-instance verdict was pronounced by Judge Igor Đuričković.

"Today, the Higher Court in Podgorica announced the verdict in case Ks. No. 17/21, by which the defendants Peruničić Dejan and Pavićević Srđan were found guilty of committing the extended criminal offense of abuse of official position under Article 416 paragraph 1 of the Criminal Code of Montenegro in connection with Article 49 of the Criminal Code of Montenegro and sentenced as follows: defendant Peruničić Dejan to a prison sentence of 5 (five) years, and defendant Pavićević Srđan to a prison sentence of 1 (one) year and 4 (four) months," the statement states.

The Higher Court in Podgorica added that this was a single criminal proceeding conducted under four indictments of the SDT, namely: indictments Kts.br.44/21 of 25.03.2021, Kts.br. 243/21 of 29.12.2021, Kts.br.4/22 of 15.04.2022 and Ktsbr. 79/22 of 17.09.2024.

"Given the fact that during the proceedings, the court, based on Article 314 of the Criminal Procedure Code, made a decision excluding the public from the entire main trial, in order to preserve secrecy and public order, when announcing the verdict, the court, based on Article 375, paragraph 4 of the Criminal Procedure Code, made a decision excluding the public from the announcement of the reasons for the verdict," the Higher Court in Podgorica said.