The Basic State Prosecutor's Office (ODT) in Podgorica dismissed the criminal complaint against the head of the National Coordinating Body for the Suppression of Infectious Diseases (NKT) and Deputy Prime Minister Milutin Simović, accusing him of violating the body's measures to combat the epidemic.
On September 6, a so-called patriotic rally in Podgorica was broadcast live from Simović's Facebook profile, which was attended by more than 100 citizens - the maximum number foreseen by the NKT measures.
Citing these facts, civil activist Dragan Sošić filed a complaint against Simović on September 15, but the ODT found that the government official had nothing to do with it, but rather his adviser Miodrag Kankaraš, who did not state whether he would be prosecuted.
In the decision submitted to Sošić, which "Vijesti" had access to, it is written that the state prosecutor Siniša Milić found that Simović did not commit a criminal offense - failure to comply with health regulations for the prevention of infectious diseases, nor any other criminal offense that is prosecuted ex officio .
Given that, apart from the published video, there was no other evidence that Simović attended the rally, the prosecutor rejected the report due to lack of evidence, it added.
In the explanation of the decision of the ODT from October 15, it is written that Simović stated in his two statements that he did not attend the meeting and that he did not record and publish the video on his personal Facebook profile.
Simović, as stated, pointed out that he has an administrator of his personal profile and that it is an adviser in his cabinet, Miodrag Kankaraš.
In his testimony as a citizen, as explained by the prosecutor, Kankaraš stated that he was Simović's adviser, that he performed tasks related to public relations, and that he created Simović's Facebook profile, which promoted the activities of the Ministry of Agriculture and other activities within its scope. of the work of the Deputy Prime Minister and that he did so on September 6.
"He confirmed that on that day he was recording the Patriotic Rally that he personally attended, that he was filming while moving towards Independence Square where the rally took place, that he posted the footage on his Facebook profile, while he thought he was posting it on his to the Facebook profile", it is written in the decision of ODT.
In the prosecutor's decision, it is stated that Kankaraš stopped the recording when he saw that people who were not his friends were appearing on that social network and that he was broadcasting the recording on Simović's profile.
He explained that the government official had nothing to do with the broadcast, which was also claimed by Simović in a public statement the day after the meeting.
He then announced that he did not attend the Patriotic Rally, because as the head of the NKT, he has no place at public rallies.
He explained that the administrator mistakenly broadcast the broadcast on his, instead of his Facebook profile.
Then he added that it was true that there was a live stream from the meeting for several minutes from his personal FB profile, but he explained that it happened due to an administrator error.
After the ODT rejected the criminal complaint, Sošić filed a complaint with the Higher State Prosecutor's Office in Podgorica, requesting that the ODT initiate criminal proceedings against Simović or his adviser for violating NKT measures.
In his complaint, Sošić stated that as a citizen he has no right or opportunity to investigate whether Simović posts personally or has an administrator of his personal Facebook profile, and thus he could not have known that Simović was hiring another person to manage his personal profile.
"Based on the testimony of Simović Milutin and Kankaraš Miodrag, the State Prosecutor's Office obtained information that the so-called Patriotic Rally was recorded from the personal profile of Simović Milutin, that the recording was published, so it was determined that the allegations from my criminal complaint are correct. "It is not my job, as a citizen, to investigate whether Simović Milutin committed a criminal offense or whether someone else did it on his behalf," said Sošić.
Criminal case against Vuković in the jurisdiction of ODT in Cetinje
On September 15, Sošić filed a criminal complaint with the ODT against NKT member and Podgorica mayor Ivan Vuković for violating the measures during the rally in Cetinje.
Sošić stated in the report that on September 3, a gathering of citizens was held in Cetinje, contrary to the measures of the NKT, which was attended by NKT member Ivan Vuković, not respecting the measures of the NKT on the prohibition of gatherings of more than 100 citizens in the open, mandatory wearing protective masks and a physical distance of at least two meters.
The ODT stated in the decision that the criminal report was submitted to the jurisdiction of the ODT in Cetinje, considering that the criminal report is charged for actions taken in the territory of the capital Cetinje.
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