Mandić on his nephew's case: This is the new Montenegro, no one can be exempted from punishment, provided they are guilty

When asked by the media about the situation with my nephew Danilo Mandić, I stated that I did not comment on this entire situation so that no one would have a reason to say that I was putting pressure on the competent authorities, said the President of the Parliament of Montenegro, Andrija Mandić.

"This is a new Montenegro and no one in it can be exempted from the application of legal punishment, provided that they are truly guilty. I learned about the situation and the accusations against my nephew from the media, as did most citizens. According to official information, the two lightly injured people explicitly claim that Danilo is not connected to the unfortunate incident, and despite that, he is in pretrial detention," Mandić wrote on the social network X.

He added that he expects "the investigation to be swift, thorough and independent, unless someone thinks he should be shot before the end of the proceedings, and it would be good for those like that to announce this publicly and thus expose themselves before the Montenegrin public."

Mandić today laid a wreath at the memorial to the victims of the NATO bombing in Murin.

The Higher State Prosecutor's Office in Podgorica suspects Danilo Mandić of wounding Darko Perović and Aris Turković in the capital on April 19. The Police Department claims that Mandić blocked the path of Perović and Turković with the official vehicle of the Legislative Chamber, a Range Rover jeep, and fired "several shots at them, from which the injured parties sustained injuries in the leg area"... A judge at the Podgorica Higher Court ordered Mandić to be detained for up to 30 days.

Although Danilo Mandić's legal representative claimed that his client was charged with attempted murder solely based on the statements of the two injured parties, during the hearing at the Higher State Prosecutor's Office (VDT), they denied that he shot at them and did not join the criminal prosecution.

Perović testified at a hearing at the Higher State Prosecutor's Office on April 23 that Danilo Mandić did not shoot him, and also claimed that he had suffered threats and blackmail from the police to accuse Mandić of wounding him. The police therefore filed criminal charges against him on Monday.

The Podgorica Basic Prosecutor's Office, as previously told ''Vijesti'', is investigating whether Danilo Mandić misused an official parliamentary vehicle on the night he allegedly injured two people in Podgorica.

On April 24, DPS, SD and GP URA filed an initiative for a control hearing of Supreme State Prosecutor Milorad Marković and Director of the Police Administration Lazar Šćepanović regarding the case of Mandić's nephew. In the initiative, they state that the way the authorities reacted in this case raises concerns and doubts about the legality and impartiality of their actions.

They believe that it is necessary to "establish all the facts and circumstances regarding the attempted aggravated murder", i.e. how the Supreme State Prosecutor's Office qualified the act, whether there was any attempt to conceal evidence or remove traces, "with the aim of illegally facilitating the suspect's position in the upcoming criminal proceedings".

"This hearing is crucial for preserving citizens' trust in the institutions of the system and strengthening the rule of law," the initiative states.

The DPS previously said that in any democratic country, the speaker of parliament "in these circumstances" would immediately resign, not because he is legally obligated to, but because he knows that "after such events, he is morally unworthy to continue performing his duties."

The NGO Center for Democratic Transition (CDT) called on the Prosecutorial Council to use its legal powers and review the actions of the competent prosecutors' offices in the case of Danilo Mandić.

"The case has aroused great public interest, and additional concern is caused by numerous contradictory information that has been announced in recent days by representatives of the prosecutor's office, police and defense, including uncertainties about the investigation, forensics, the use of an official vehicle and the timeliness of the response. Public attention is further heightened by the fact that the suspect is a close associate and relative of one of the highest state officials," they said.

The CDT says that the urgent and transparent response of the Prosecutorial Council is crucial for maintaining citizens' trust in the work of judicial institutions.