Prosecutors are still reading "Homeless House"

The Podgorica Basic State Prosecutor's Office (ODT) has not yet made a decision regarding the awarding of the July Thirteenth Award. Bećir Vuković, initiated after suspicions that the data on the publication of the book "Homeless Houses" were falsified.

"The subject of your interest is in the investigation process. In order to protect the interests of the procedure, we cannot provide any more details for now," the Podgorica ODT told "Vijesti".

The prosecution did not specify when a decision can be expected, whether Vuković has been heard, or what procedural actions are currently being carried out.

Previously, the prosecutor's office said that documentation from the National Library of Montenegro "Đurđe Crnojević" had been obtained, and a request for information collection was sent to the Police Directorate on July 18, 2025, but no action had been taken at that time, which is why an urgent request was sent.

The case was opened after the director of the National Library Dragica Lompar pointed out discrepancies in the data about the book "Homeless Houses".

She stated that the library has no information that the book has ever been officially published, that a CIP record has not been issued for it, nor has a single copy been submitted to the compulsory library depository. According to data available to the National Library, the record in the COBISS bibliographic system for this publication appeared on April 2, 2025, but was changed on July 4, 2025, so that the book is marked as “in print”, with a subsequently assigned ISBN number.

There was no data in domestic and regional databases at that time confirming the publication of the work, and a copy of the book was not available in libraries or in the publisher's bookstores. This raised the question of why the jury decided to award the prize to a work for which there was no clear trace of publication.

The award ceremony sparked a protest on July 8, 2025, in front of the Gorica Villa, ahead of the award ceremony, which attracted a significant number of citizens. A petition was launched at the same time to review the decision, and several actors from the cultural sector and the library community pointed out that the documentation of the book was not recorded in accordance with regulations and common practice.

The institutions that spoke out about the controversial cataloging stated that certain doubts could be clarified exclusively through the proceedings of the competent prosecutor's office, and in mid-July, the ODT officially confirmed that a case had been filed.

The case was opened after the director of the National Library, Dragica Lompar, pointed out discrepancies in the data about the book "Houses of the Homeless"

The Podgorica police recently filed requests to initiate misdemeanor proceedings against 35 individuals on suspicion of committing misdemeanors under Articles 11 and 12 of the Law on Public Order and Peace - obstruction, disrespect and failure to act on the orders of police officers. This concerns some of the citizens who protested in front of the “Gorica” villa in Podgorica in July, during the presentation of the July 13th Award.

The protest was held on July 8, 2025, precisely because of the award presentation to Vuković. The Police Directorate recently announced that the gathering was unregistered, and that during it there was a "violation of public order and peace and active attacks on police officers by the gathered people."

The police also announced that the state prosecutor at the Basic State Prosecutor's Office in Podgorica, after reviewing the entire case file, stated that "the actions of the identified persons do not constitute the elements of a criminal offense whose prosecution is being undertaken ex officio, and that police officers appreciate the existence of misdemeanor liability of the identified participants in the event."