ŽICG allegedly withdrew criminal charges against six workers, this is not possible in practice: ODT has filed a case

Although the Railway Infrastructure Company (ŽICG) has allegedly withdrawn the criminal charges they filed against six employees of the company due to the suspension of train traffic at the end of August, this is not possible in practice. The Basic State Prosecutor's Office (ODT) officially told "Vijesti" that according to the Criminal Procedure Code, a criminal charge as a procedural act cannot be formally withdrawn.

The Podgorica ODT confirmed that a case has been opened regarding this case, and that it is in the investigation phase.

A group of ŽICG employees, consisting of 85 train dispatchers, remote control dispatchers and traffic dispatchers, stopped their work and train operations on August 22, demanding that the company's management invite them to negotiate a salary increase. An agreement on higher wages was reached five days later, after which the trains started running again, but in the meantime, criminal charges were filed against the workers.

The workers did not want to share details about this case with "Vijesti", while they did not want to officially confirm the filing and withdrawal of the criminal case in ŽICG either. They briefly said that the ODT initiated the procedure ex officio and that all information should be asked to the prosecutor's office, that they fully respected the agreement reached with the strikers' representatives, that the rest is not within their jurisdiction and that they have no new details about this case.

An unofficial source for "Vijesti" however claims the opposite of the ODT's position, namely that ŽICG withdrew the complaint after reaching an agreement with the workers and resuming train traffic.

"We would like to inform you that regarding the event in question on August 22, 2025, when work and railway traffic were suspended, a criminal report was filed with the Basic State Prosecutor's Office in Podgorica against six persons. Based on the aforementioned report, a case was formed that is in the investigation process. We note that, in accordance with the Criminal Procedure Code, a criminal report as a procedural act cannot be formally withdrawn. Upon its receipt, the State Prosecutor's Office is obliged to act in accordance with legal obligations, i.e. to take action to verify the allegations in the report, regardless of subsequent statements by the applicant," the ODT told "Vijesti".

In accordance with the Criminal Procedure Code, a criminal report as a procedural act cannot be formally withdrawn. Upon its receipt, the prosecutor's office is obliged to act in accordance with legal obligations, i.e. to take action to verify the allegations in the report, regardless of subsequent statements by the applicant.

The management of ŽICG announced criminal charges even before the blockade itself, because the suspension occurred in violation of railway regulations on strikes. In addition, more than 220 wagons were stopped along with the trains, of which about 130 were full of goods and intended for reloading at the Port of Bar, while freight and passenger traffic in the country was also stopped. At the end of August, the Port of Bar and Željeznički prevoz told “Vijesti” that losses were accumulating quickly, while freight company Montecargo stated that the downtime was costing them about 20 thousand euros per day. During the five-day blockade, passengers were transported by 25 to 30 buses per day instead of trains.