Democrats: The key qualification of Pešić for the president of the Association of Judges is that he was the president of the youth DPS BP

Democratic Montenegro announced today that the key qualification of the president of the Administrative Court, Miodrag Pešić, for the position of president of the Association of Judges is that he was the president of the youth of the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) in Bijelo Polje.

They reacted to the announcement of the Association of Judges in which, among other things, it is stated that the Democrats continue targeting, and the Special State Prosecutor's Office (SDT) is called upon to file a case regarding the statement of the head of the Democrats' parliamentary club, Boris Bogdanović, who accused some of the judges of "becoming supporters of the allies crime".

"How is it that judge Miodrag Pešić, the president of the Association of Judges of Montenegro, is very zealous when it comes to calling the Special State Prosecutor's Office to hear MP Boris Bogdanović, but he is nowhere near as energetic when it comes to pointing out the failures of the judiciary in the case of Vuk Lalatović? Let us remind you that Lalatović is admitted to the commission of the serious crime of murder, and his crime was supported by indisputably proven facts of crimes," the statement of the Democrats points out.

The party added that "unfortunately, this selective zeal is not surprising."

"Miodrag Pešić is not only a judge - not so long ago, before he was elected president of the Association of Judges of Montenegro, he was the president of the youth of the Democratic Party of Socialists in Bijelo Polje, so it could be said that there are more judges among politicians than among lawyers. "Obviously, that was his key qualification for the position of president of the Association of Judges. Therefore, we should not be surprised that his announcement is full of disgusting political qualifications that are more befitting of a former politician than the president of the Association of Judges," the statement reads.

Democrats state that this is why Judge Pešić vigorously calls out MP Bogdanović, and at the same time remains silent on the statements of high-ranking DPS officials who attacked the judiciary in the case of the decision to extend the detention of former police official Zoran Lazović.

"It is completely understandable - how could Pešić attack his party comrades? It would not be appropriate for him to criticize those whose political uniform is still worn under the judge's robe. This best confirms Pešić's work in the judiciary, which was marked by controversial decisions that often served the interests of DPS- a", said the Democrats.

The party states that one of the most famous cases is Pešić's verdict in favor of Ana Đukanović, the sister of the then Prime Minister Milo Đukanović.

"In this case, Pešić ordered 'Vijesti' to pay Ana Đukanović 5.000 euros due to the alleged mental pain caused by texts about corruption in the 'Telekom' affair. An earlier panel of the High Court overturned the same verdict, stressing that journalists have the right to believe that she the person mentioned in the documents of the American Securities Commission on bribery during the privatization of Telekom. However, Pešić concluded in the new verdict that "The information may have been correct, but that 'Vijesti' could have placed it with more caution. This court attitude left a bitter impression that Pešić's justice was reserved for DPS personnel," the Democrats pointed out.

They state that Pešić's statement in which he claims that deputy Bogdanović, as the head of the Democrats parliamentary group, probably has reliable information about connections between judges and crime, is particularly worrying, implying that this information comes from secret information from the security sector.

"With this, Pešić either proves his ignorance of the basic legal provisions on access to confidential information, or he simply uses manipulations to defend the collapsed credibility of part of the judiciary, or maybe he remembers their earlier actions when secret data ended up in the hands of unauthorized persons. Mr. Pešić, obviously, still you are always living in the time of Milivoj Katnić, when MPs like Dragan Krapović had traffic violations turned into accusations of the most serious crimes of attacking constitutionally regulated it is written in the announcement of the Democrats.

From that party they said that those times have passed.

"Montenegro is no longer a country where the prosecution organization serves as a political instrument against dissidents. In the end, if you really want to fight political battles, be honest and get on the political stage. Take off the judge's robe, enter the arena, and let the people judge by your words and deeds. Justice is too serious to be a hostage to your political ambitions. And in the end, we were not afraid of either Zoran Lazović or Milivoje Katnić, so we won't be either of the unsuccessful politician Miodrag Pešić" concludes the statement of the Democrats.