We expect the Council for Civilian Control of Police Work to conduct an impartial analysis and provide the public with answers regarding the mass crime in Cetinje on January 1, which have been missing for 25 days, the non-governmental organizations (NGOs) Human Rights Action (HRA) and the Center for Women's Rights (CŽP) announced today.
A joint statement submitted by the HRA states that the HRA and the CŽP submitted a complaint yesterday to the Council for Civilian Control of Police Work regarding the actions of the police during the mass crime in Cetinje, on January 1, 2025.
Aco Martinović killed 1 people in Cetinje on January 13st.
"The aim of the petition is to establish all relevant facts and assess the actions of the Police Directorate, in order to determine responsibility for omissions and improve the protection of the right to life and security in Montenegro," the HRA and CŽP said in a statement.
It is added that the Council for Civilian Control of Police Work is an independent mechanism for controlling police work that evaluates the application of police powers to protect human rights and freedoms.
"The Council is headed by lawyer Zoran Čelebić, and its members are Milena Popović Samardžić, representative of the Medical Chamber of Montenegro, Dražen Cerović, representative of the University of Montenegro, Branislav Radulović, representative of the Association of Lawyers of Montenegro, and Aida Petrović, representative of non-governmental organizations dealing with human rights," the HRA and CŽP statement reads.
These two NGOs petitioned the Council to establish the facts and assess the application of police powers in the context of protecting the lives and safety of the citizens of Cetinje, with an emphasis on the following issues:
- Who, when, and how informed the police about the murders on January 1 in Cetinje, and what was the police officers' response to the aforementioned reports?
- How many operational police officers were there in Cetinje on January 1st at the time of the mass crime and what was done to improve it?
security in Cetinje after the mass murder on August 12, 2022? The information about a total of 11 police officers in Cetinje at the time of the murder, which was presented by the acting director of the Police Directorate, indicates that not enough has been done to improve security in Cetinje since the previous tragedy and that those responsible must bear responsibility for this. This also raises the question of how many of those 11 officers were actually operational at the time of the murders.
- Why did the Police Directorate fail to find and deprive the
freedom of the perpetrator of mass murder?
- How did the perpetrator of the murder obtain illegal weapons and ammunition and whether the police took the necessary preventive measures to protect security?
citizens?
- Were there any reports of domestic violence against the perpetrator of the mass crime and, if so, what action was taken regarding those reports?
"We consider the lack of information on the existence and development of procedures for examining and assessing the application of police powers on January 1, 2025 in Cetinje, or on the eve of that event, and the exclusively affirmative statements by officials about the actions of the police to be worrying. This approach does not contribute to improving security and protecting human rights. We expect the Council to conduct an impartial analysis and provide the public with answers regarding the mass crime in Cetinje, which have been missing for 25 days. We expect the Council to thoroughly and independently investigate and verify the data of the Police Administration and assess the actions of the competent civil servants in order to prevent the recurrence of similar tragedies in the future," the statement reads.
The petition and all additional questions and analyses requested by HRA and CŽP are available here. link.
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