When the prosecutors cannot, the Government should order the police

The Constitutional Court of Montenegro will decide at its plenary session whether it will ask the Government, whose jurisdiction is the Police Directorate, to implement its decision on the "thorough and independent investigation" of police torture in Zalatarska Street.

The three-member panel of judge Mevlide Muratović did not reach an agreement on this yesterday, so the decision cannot be final.

Judge reporter Miodrag Ilicković proposed yesterday that the Government undertake to implement the decision of that court, because the Prosecution did not do so. He believes that the police did not effectively cooperate with the Prosecutor's Office in order to reveal the police officers who beat the two citizens in Zlatarska.

This summer, the Constitutional Court accepted the constitutional appeal of Action for Human Rights due to the ineffective investigation of torture in Zlatarska, after the Democratic Front protest on October 24, 2015, and obliged the ODT in Podgorica to conduct a quick and efficient investigation within three months and inform them of the results.

In the letter, the US ODT Podgorica stated that they once again interrogated 54 members of the SAJ as citizens, as well as the editor-in-chief of "Vijesti" Mihailo Jovović and the director of TV Vijesti, Marijana Kadić Bojanić, regarding the video of torture that was published on social networks.

Also, the commander of the Special Police Unit, Dragan Blagojević, was heard as a witness. "Declaring his unit's deployment on the ground, he stated that it was not deployed on the street in question where the critical incident happened," stated ODT Ljiljana Klikovac.

Since Iličković, who acted in the case of Zlatarske, believes that in three months there was no progress in the prosecution's efforts, he stated in the proposed decision that the US, based on its jurisdiction, should ask the Government to implement its decision because it is not an isolated case. but to a practice that could be a standard of behavior.

The judge cited examples of ineffective investigation in the case of Miodrag Martinović, who was also beaten on October 24, 2015, as well as journalist Tufik Softić, where the state did not conduct an effective investigation. According to the judge, the police did not act according to the numerous requests of the prosecution and did not cooperate fundamentally.

Since the decisions of the US are obliged to be implemented by the Government, under whose jurisdiction is the Police Directorate, the judge expects it to act as in the case of benefits for mothers with three or more children. Then the US repealed the provisions of the Law on Social and Child Protection, which introduced benefits, and ordered the Government to adopt a legal solution. She then canceled the fees.

Stanković: The basis for suggesting does not exist in positive law

VDT Ivica Stanković informed the President of the Constitutional Court, Dragoljub Drašković, that he "already applied legal powers" in this case. He reminded the authorities of the police and prosecutors, and stated that "he believes that an effective investigation can be conducted only if all competent state bodies act in accordance with the rights and duties prescribed by law, efficiently and in a timely manner."

"The obligation of the ODT as a state body to implement the relevant decision of the US is incorporated in Article 55 of the Law on the Constitutional Court. However, allow me to point out that the basis for "suggesting" the US Supreme State Prosecutor does not exist in the positive law of Montenegro," Stanković stated in a letter published by HRA on its website.

In the decision of the Constitutional Court which established torture, the police are obliged to cooperate with the prosecution, and VDT Ivica Stanković to ensure an effective investigation.