Inspector General of the National Security Agency (ANB) Artan Kurti he did not start doing the job to which the Government of Montenegro appointed him, because he does not have access to classified information, it was confirmed by ANB News.
Kurti was appointed by the Government, along with ministers from the Social Democratic Party, at the end of July, and he has been in ANB since the beginning of August. However, according to "Vijesti" information, the Inspector General is denied control over the legality of the Agency's work until he receives permission to access secret data on which ANB's work is based.
"In connection with the submitted questions related to Artan Kurti, Inspector General of the National Security Agency, we inform you that after his appointment, in accordance with the laws and by-laws that regulate this area, the Agency undertook activities to prepare his security check, which still in progress", says the reply from the Office of the Director of the Agency Sava Kentere.
They remind that a security check is a condition for issuing permission to access classified information.
"This implies that the inspector general does not have access to classified data until the aforementioned procedure is completed, and that he cannot perform the duties of the function to which the Government appointed him," the reply to Vijesti states.
According to the law, the security check is carried out by the Agency at the request of the Directorate for the Protection of Secret Data. When the ANB completes the work, the Directorate grants or refuses permission to access information and documents marked as confidential and strictly confidential.
Several interlocutors with whom Vijesti spoke expect that a problem could arise regarding the outcome of this work entrusted to ANB, given the fact that Kurti has a criminal conviction and that he could "fail" the check.
The Law on ANB states that "an employment relationship cannot be established by a person" who, among other things, must meet the condition that he has not been legally convicted of a criminal offense".
The government, however, at the proposal of the prime minister Dritan Abazović On July 22, 2022, appointed lawyer Kurti as general inspector at ANB, although, according to available court data, he was sentenced twice to prison sentences of 10 months each.
A man from Ulcinj, who was previously an expert associate at the Commercial Court, was sentenced as a juvenile to 10 months in juvenile prison. A few years later, as an adult, he was sentenced to a single sentence of 10 months in prison, according to data from the Supreme and Constitutional Courts.
The first verdict was for attempted murder, and the second for grievous bodily harm in connection with the criminal offense of illegal possession of weapons and explosive materials.
However, the verdicts were deleted from the criminal records maintained by the Ministry of Justice, although previously, as a reliable interlocutor told Vijesti, there was no legally binding court decision to that effect. Although Kurti had initiated a dispute before the Constitutional Court, he withdrew the request after the Supreme Court, acting on the order of the Constitutional Court, made the same decision - on the refusal to delete the criminal responsibility from the records of the Ministry.
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According to the Criminal Code of Montenegro, rehabilitation, that is, the termination of the legal consequences of a conviction, can occur on the basis of legal rehabilitation or at the request of a convicted person on the basis of a court decision - judicial rehabilitation.
Artan Kurti previously said in a statement to "Vijesta" that he is "an unconvicted person".
According to the law on ANB, the inspector general is obliged to carry out internal control of work - data protection, efficiency of implementation of programs and work plans, application and exceeding of authorizations, financial operations, but also the efficiency of execution of tasks of the Agency.
He is appointed for five years, and he is responsible to the Government for his work.
According to the Law on ANB, the inspector general submits a report to the director of the Agency on all matters of importance, but also on the findings obtained during the control...
The Inspector General submits a report on the performed control to the Director of the Agency and the Government.
ANB Director Savo Kentera, according to the law, can temporarily stop or prohibit the inspector general from performing inspections for reasons of protecting the interests of national security. The director of ANB must inform the prime minister about this measure without delay.
According to the information of Vijesta, due to his inability to do the work he was appointed to, Kurti is taking a vacation.
The laws of certain countries in the region stipulate that public officials are subject to security checks before election or appointment in order to avoid the possibility that someone who has broken the law takes public office.
The Montenegrin law on ANB does not have that provision, but work is underway to amend the regulations, so it is most likely that good practices will be accepted in the proposal, which some state officials have advocated for before.
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