The non-governmental organizations (NGOs) Human Rights Action (HRA) and the Women's Rights Center (WRC) announced today that they are calling on the Higher State Prosecutor's Office in Podgorica to inform the public about the investigation into the mass murder in Cetinje on January 1st.
In a joint statement by the two NGOs submitted to the HRA, it is stated that on Friday, February 14, they warned that the Police Administration (UP) had not responded to the Council for Civilian Control of Police Work for 17 days to the issues they raised in the complaint they sent to the Council.
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"From Friday to Sunday, the Police Directorate issued three statements on this occasion, in which it tried to justify its failure to act on the Council's request. In the first and second statements, the Police Directorate stated that they sent the response to the Council first by official mail and then by regular mail, and also emphasized that they classified the responses. In the third statement, it emphasized that it would not publish them without the permission of the State Prosecutor's Office, which is allegedly still conducting an investigation into the mass murder in Cetinje. From the response of the Supreme State Prosecutor dated February 3, we concluded that the State Prosecutor's Office is not conducting any investigation into the mass murder in Cetinje, as we announced on Friday. We call on the Higher State Prosecutor's Office in Podgorica to inform the public about the investigation that, according to the Police Directorate's claims, is being conducted by State Prosecutor Andrijana Nastić. We expect the Police Directorate to publish answers to questions in the interest of respecting human rights to life and security," the HRA and CŽP statement, signed by Tea Gorjanc, states. Prelević (for HRA) and Maja Raičević (for CŽP).
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These NGOs said they expect the Council for Civilian Control of Police Work to be enabled, in accordance with its jurisdiction and upon their complaint, to inspect the actions of the Cetinje Police Directorate on January 1st of this year, establish the facts and evaluate the application of police powers.
"If it is necessary to limit access to a part of the response, we expect the State Prosecutor's Office to confirm that this is necessary and explain why it is necessary," the statement reads.
HRA and CŽP state that in their complaint to the Council for Citizens' Control of Police Work, they raised the following questions, after carefully reviewing all the information that representatives of the Ministry of Interior, the Police Directorate, and the State Prosecutor's Office shared with the public:
• Who, when, and how informed the police about the murders on January 1 in Cetinje, and what was the police officers' response to those reports?
• How many operational police officers were there in Cetinje on January 1st at the time of the mass crime?
• Why did the Police Directorate fail to find and arrest the perpetrator of the murders for more than five and a half hours?
• How did the perpetrator of the murders obtain illegal weapons and ammunition, and did the police take any investigative actions and necessary preventive measures in this regard in order to protect the safety of citizens?
• Were there any reports of domestic violence against the perpetrator of the crime and, if so, what action was taken regarding those reports?
• Has an expert examination of the perpetrator's phone been performed?
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