Beaten foreigner still waiting for justice: No one is guilty of the brutal beating of a French citizen in the center of Podgorica

So far, no one has been found guilty in the brutal beating of a French citizen. NM in the very center of Podgorica in November last year, emerges from the documentation of the Podgorica Basic and Higher State Prosecutor's Offices, which "Vijesti" had access to.

Prosecutor of the Podgorica Public Prosecutor's Office Sanja Raznatović dismissed criminal charges against two people - BL i K. P. from Podgorica, whom the twenty-year-old Frenchman identified as part of the perpetrators of the incident during the police identification process.

Ražnatović claims in the decision that "there is no reasonable suspicion that they committed the reported crime, nor any other criminal offense for which they are being prosecuted ex officio."

NM was brutally beaten in front of the "Why" restaurant on the night of November 13-14 last year, and the attackers were only arrested nine days later. The Clinical Center of Montenegro determined that his nose and ribs were broken, and his lung was punctured...

Attorney of a French citizen, lawyer Niksa Miljanic filed a complaint with the Higher State Prosecutor's Office about Ražnatović's actions, but prosecutor Tatjana Begović assessed that "everything was done in accordance with the law" and that "all actions were taken" at the Podgorica State Prosecutor's Office.

"As I have already stated in my review of the conduct of the Podgorica ODT, I believe that both the police and the prosecution made serious professional errors and that it is terrible that such a brutal beating remained completely unsolved and unpunished. The Podgorica ODT has, for the first time in my professional career, made me wonder whether the prosecutor's function is to defend or prosecute suspects. Starting with the conduct of the police, who arrived at the scene not even 10 minutes after the brutal beating of the young man, and who did not arrest or detain anyone, everything in this proceeding is an incredible absurdity," Miljanić emphasized and reminded that "the beating of the young man occurred in front of dozens of witnesses."

"No one can convince me that the police inspectors were unable, at least to the extent of reasonable suspicion, to uncover who committed this crime through their investigative actions," Miljanić said.

That night, the Frenchman was in a bar in the center of Podgorica, Miljanić previously told the editorial office, in the company of his twenty-year-old cousin, a Russian citizen.

What does the decision on rejection of the application say?

According to the documents, the French citizen claimed before the prosecutor that he had told the prosecutor that he had sat down with his cousin in a bar in Podgorica and that, while they were drinking, he asked the waiter to put his phone on the charger. He says that the situation had been normal up until then and that they had started talking to some girls...

"A little while later, I headed towards the bar to get my phone. At that moment, when I was approaching the bar, things started to get very strange. When I approached the bartender, two men I didn't know came up behind me and started pulling me by the shoulders, telling me that I had to leave the place... I was confused and tried to gesture them away from me and also tried to continue the conversation with the bartender to get my phone. Then they became a bit more aggressive," the injured party told the prosecutor, stating that he felt helpless as he tried to explain to them that he just wanted his phone, while "three, four people" managed to push him out of the bar.

"I was surrounded by three or four people and then they started hitting me, punching me in the head and body... I saw at least two people hitting me," said the French citizen, who identified BL and KP as the perpetrators of the incident during identification.

According to the findings and opinion of the medical expert, Dr. Nemanja Radojević, NM "suffered injuries that collectively qualify as (particularly) serious bodily injury" that evening. It is stated that these include a fracture of the nasal bones, ribs..., but also that they were kicked and punched.

Prosecutor Ražanatović states in the decision that BL and KP denied involvement in the incident.

KP claimed that he saw the incident involving the bar's guests, but also stressed that it was "possible" that he was the one who asked the staff to call the police.

"He assumes that this Russian had seen him before and therefore marked him for identification," the documents available to the editorial office state. KP also stated that the waiters told him that "the Russian was under the influence of alcohol, and possibly drugs, which he was told by the waiters who served him..."

BL told the prosecutor that he was allegedly not at the bar on the evening in question until KP called him, about fifty minutes after midnight on the night of the incident.

"I sent them everything they needed to say..."

The court expert in the field of digital evidence and computer forensics, the ruling states, identified communication between BL and KP via the Viber application. They comment on the event, but also on the fact that some employees of the cafe went to the police to give statements about the incident.

In this communication, among other things, one of the interlocutors tells the other to "check what the solution is because they have to come up with a story about what happened, how it happened", while the other replies with "Nothing, brother, the guests fought in front and that's it, no big deal, they brought him and two waiters in to give a statement, someone has to give a statement".

"'I sent them everything they had to say', 'There was no security tonight, the guests fought and that's it', 'I sent him, but there are two waiters, it would be better if it was someone from security or the post office manager', it would be easier to figure out, I don't know what the waiters will say, they are interrogating each one individually'", are some of the messages quoted in the decision of prosecutor Ražnatović, which were pointed out by a court expert in the field of digital evidence and computer forensics.

The prosecutor, however, states that during the proceedings "no evidence presented confirmed that BL and K. P. grossly insulted, abused or committed violence against the injured party..." She stated that the ODT will form a new case, against unknown perpetrators, in which it will continue to take measures and actions.

Miljanić: If they didn't beat him, they know who did

Attorney Miljanić emphasizes that "from a professional point of view, it is unacceptable for this state of affairs in the case to lead prosecutor Sanja Ražnatović to dismiss the criminal complaint."

"...And they let such a brutal event go completely unpunished. It is quite clear that the suspects, even if they did not beat up a young man of French nationality, certainly know who did it. I personally witnessed the identification process and it was carried out correctly. But, regardless of that, isn't this a little too small a country for such an event to take place in the capital, and for so many to 'know nothing'? Therefore, I believe that this is one of the cases that is truly alarming and points to glaring omissions in our security and prosecutorial sectors," said Miljanić.

He emphasizes that he cannot decide “who acted more poorly within their authority, the police or the ODT.” He recalled that “the police arrived at the scene not even 10 minutes after the brutal beating of the young man, and they did not arrest or detain anyone.”

"In the end, the worst thing is that the Higher Prosecutor's Office does not see anything controversial here. They responded negatively to my complaint without hesitation, promptly, after exactly seven days. This truly leaves me, both as a citizen and as a professional, without comment. Can you imagine that something like this could happen in a developed system, with dozens of witnesses in plain sight, and literally no one being held accountable," Miljanić asked. He recalled that this unfortunate event took place a year ago, but that it is "very coherent with the recent escalations of xenophobia and interethnic intolerance."

"And this is a really important topic. I must say that I am not 100% sure that the reaction of the authorities would be this bad if it were one of our citizens. This is a particularly important topic and requires a serious approach. In any case, whoever beat up the young Frenchman did not show any heroism, since the injured NM looks almost like a child. But what is much worse and truly devastating is that this kind of behavior by the authorities literally encourages similar bullies," Miljanić concluded.