Hearing in the "Tunel" case postponed because the prosecutor is on vacation

The hearing in the "Tunel" case was postponed today at the Basic Court in Podgorica because prosecutor Marko Mugoša, who had previously requested a postponement due to taking annual leave, did not appear.

The defendants in that case are Veljko Marković, Milan Marković, Dejan Jovanović, Vladimir Erić, Predrag Mirotić, Nikola Milačić, Katarina Baćović and Marijan Vuljaj, and the prosecution charges them with criminal offenses related to digging a tunnel to the depot of the Higher Court in Podgorica.

Mirotić and Baćović were escorted from detention to the court under guard.

The “Tunnel” case concerns the digging of an underground passage from an apartment on Njegoševa Street to the High Court depot, which was discovered in September 2023. According to the prosecution, the goal was to access objects and evidence that were located in the court depot.

In a motion dated July 9, Mugoša requested a postponement of today's hearing, stating that he would be on vacation from July 20 to August 7 and that he would therefore be unable to attend the trial.

In his request for a postponement, Mugoša said that he was requesting a shorter deadline for the next hearing due to the public interest and the case itself, to which the lawyers agreed and requested a new date as soon as possible.

Forensic genetics expert Jelena Jovanović was also invited to today's hearing, but the court informed her that she would not be attending after the prosecution's request for a postponement.

Lawyers Stefan Jovanović and Danilo Mićović protested the delay, pointing out that this is a case of special public interest, the court must act in accordance with its obligations, saying that "the court is not someone who fulfills the wishes of any instance in the proceedings."

The trial is scheduled to continue on August 13th at 9:00 AM.

In early July, the Higher Court in Bijelo Polje overturned the acquittal verdict of the Basic Court in Podgorica and sent the case back for a retrial before a changed panel.

By the first-instance verdict, Veljko Marković, Milan Marković, Dejan Jovanović, Vladimir Erić, Predrag Mirotić and Nikola Milačić were acquitted of the charges that they committed the criminal offense of criminal association in conjunction with the criminal offense of aggravated theft in co-perpetration.

By the same verdict, Katarina Baćović was acquitted of charges of criminal association, aggravated theft in co-perpetration, and forgery of a document, while Marijan Vuljaj was acquitted of charges of assisting the perpetrator after the crime was committed.