Two recently arrested members of the Army of Montenegro (ACG) in Kosovo will be suspended and disciplinary proceedings will be initiated against them for not informing their superiors that they will be traveling abroad, "Vijesti" has learned unofficially.
The newspaper's source from VCG said yes Rajko Krivokapic i Dragutin Lalatović they did not inform their commander that they were going to Kosovo, which, according to the law, they were obliged to do.
According to the Law on the Republic of Croatia (Article 63), a person serving in the army can travel abroad, but must report the trip to "a superior in a position directly subordinate to the Chief of the General Staff of the Republic of Croatia...". The Chief of the General Staff can limit travel abroad due to the needs of the service, and in conditions of war or state of emergency, you can go abroad only with the approval of the Minister of Defense.
The Ministry of Defense did not answer the question of "Vijesti" whether the two soldiers reported their trip abroad to their superiors.
The interlocutor of "Vijesti" says that based on media reports from the competent institutions from Kosovo, the Chief of the General Staff Zoran Lazarevic asked the Ministry of Defense to request, through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, an official notification about the arrest and detention of Krivokapić and Lalatović, and to wait for that document in order to initiate proceedings.
"Disciplinary proceedings cannot be initiated on the basis of media reports," said the "Vijesti" source.
Several regional media announced at the end of November that Krivokapić (34), Lalatović (24) and Marinko Jovanovic (24) were deprived of their liberty near the Visoki Dečani monastery because they allegedly had the inscription "Kosovo is Serbia" on the license plates of the car they were driving in.
After a two-day detention, the Basic Court in Peć ordered them to be detained for 30 days. The prosecutor's office there accuses them of having committed the criminal offense of inciting hatred and intolerance.
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A source from VCG stated that Krivokapić and Lalatović will not come to work during the suspension, and that they will receive two-thirds of their earnings.
"Vijesti" learned unofficially that one of the arrested soldiers had been on sick leave since October, and that the other had taken sick leave immediately before the incident in Kosovo, and that he was on vacation until then.
It is not clear how the two soldiers were formally on sick leave and were able to travel abroad. A source from the Ministry of Defense told "Vijesta" that the minister had previously asked the National Commission for Sickness Control at the Ministry of Health to examine the sick leave of employees in his ministry, as well as of individual members of the VCG.
The Ministry of Defense did not respond to the list as to how it is possible for Krivokapić and Lalatović to travel without being on sick leave.
The Act on the Armed Forces of Serbia (Article 113) states that a person serving in the Army is removed from duty while he is in custody, while serving a prison sentence, and if he is caught committing a disciplinary offense or if criminal proceedings have been initiated against him or proceedings due to a disciplinary offense, if his presence on duty would be harmful to the interests of the service. A person cannot come to work during the suspension from duty.
According to the same act (Article 132), two-thirds of the salary paid in the month before the removal, or three-quarters if he is supporting a family, is paid to the person who is removed from duty.
The unpaid part of the salary will be paid in case of suspension of the disciplinary proceedings or acquittal for a disciplinary offense, and if the criminal proceedings were suspended by a final decision or it was established in the disciplinary decision that no disciplinary offense was committed, or the person was acquitted of the charge by a final judgment of the court or it was rejected.
On November 24, the Kosovo police announced that during the celebration in the Visoki Dečani monastery, they arrested three people on whose vehicle they noticed the inscription "Kosovo is Serbia". That vehicle, with Montenegrin plates, was in the parking lot near the monastery.
Minister of Defense Dragan Krapović announced a few days after the incident that two of the three arrested persons were members of the VCG.
"I am familiar with the case that happened in Kosovo, like everyone else, primarily through the media. Both members of the Army of Montenegro who have been deprived of their freedom have been in the system for a long time - one since 2011 and the other since 2022. According to my knowledge and the assessments of their elders, they are good and exemplary members of the Army of Montenegro," he said.
Krapović added that both members of the VCG are on sick leave.
"When it comes to this case, nothing will be done 'over the knee', nor will anyone's head be 'taken off', if someone expects such treatment... In this, as in all other cases, it is necessary to establish all the relevant facts and the circumstances...", said the Minister of Defense.
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President of the Parliament of Montenegro and the New Serbian Democracy (NSD) Andrija Mandic the day before yesterday, he called on the administration in Pristina to immediately release the arrested.
"Taking into account all the circumstances related to the arrest of three Serbs from Nikšić in front of the Visoki Dečani monastery, with special emphasis on the extremely unstable arguments, the hate speech that is present in the Pristina media, but also among the officials of the authorities there... I call on the local administration to urgently free the citizens and members of the Army...", Mandić wrote on "Iks".
The head of the parliament supported the "justified demands of the Orthodox youth 'Paths of joy in the lands of the living'" who protested in front of the Assembly two days ago due to the arrest of three people from Nikšić.
Mandić stated that from the moment of their arrest, the Ministry of Defense is doing everything in its power to "return the innocent imprisoned citizens of Montenegro and members of our army to their homes and families".
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On the occasion of the incident in Kosovo, the Cabinet of the Deputy Prime Minister for Foreign and European Affairs also reacted Filip Ivanovic (Europe Now Movement).
"We expect our citizens to be provided with impartial and fair treatment, with respect for basic human rights and freedoms. Our diplomatic representatives in Pristina are in constant communication with the detainees and their legal representative...", Ivanović's office said.
Lazarevic chooses people for NATO missions, Krapovic's directorate checks them
Confirming that the member of the Croatian Armed Forces David Gorvoković, currently in the NATO mission in Bulgaria, celebrated National Flag Day with his colleagues from the Albanian army at the end of November by showing the Albanian national symbol, the so-called of the "double-headed eagle", Krapović said the day before yesterday that this case will also be investigated and that the junior sergeant "as in the previous case", is under the jurisdiction of the Chief of General Staff of the Croatian Army, Zoran Lazarevic.
The minister alluded to the case of the arrested soldiers in Kosovo.
Disciplinary proceedings against members of the VCG are initiated by the Chief of the General Staff.
A source from VCG told "Vijesta" that Lazarevic's responsibility "is to propose the composition of the contingent, organize training and other preparations."
"The competence of the minister is to issue a decision to each individual who is referred, to equip the contingent, as well as security checks in terms of suitability for participation in the implementation of this task," said the interlocutor.
All security checks of VCG members are carried out by the Intelligence and Security Directorate within the Ministry of Defense.
MO: Before the decision on the conditions, the soldiers must declare themselves
The Ministry of Defense today, reacting to the version of this article published in the printed edition of "Vijesti", announced the following, among other things:
"Although according to Article 63 of the Law on the Army of Montenegro, it is stated that a person serving in the Army is obliged to report the trip to his superiors, no one approves the same, based on the same article. A person serving in the Army, in accordance with Article 113 of the same of the law, he can be removed from duty while he is in custody, however, Article 115 of the Law on the Army prescribes that before making a decision, i.e., a decision on conditions in service and termination of service, a person in service in The army must be allowed to state the facts and circumstances that are important for making a decision, i.e. a solution".
They recalled the "clearly stated position of the Minister of Defense Dragan Krapović that this, like no other case, will not be resolved 'over the knee', but that it is primarily necessary to establish all relevant facts and circumstances, and after that the public will have the opportunity to officially find out the details of this procedure".
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