They've been "circling" around Raonic for almost three years: the ODT is still investigating the case against the RTCG director general and his legal team

Although almost three years have passed since the NGO Media Center filed a criminal complaint against the general director Boris Raonic Due to inciting members of the Public Service Council to make an illegal decision on his appointment, the prosecutor's office has not yet completed its investigation into the case.

From the Basic State Prosecutor's Office (ODT), headed by Dusko Milanović, briefly responded to "Vijesti" that the investigation into this case is ongoing and that, in order to protect the interests of the proceedings, they cannot provide any more information.

In the meantime, the president and some members of the Council were found guilty by a first-instance verdict of abuse of official position in complicity and were given suspended prison sentences of seven months.

President of the Council of Radio and Television of Montenegro (RTCG) Veselin Drljević and members Aminu Muric, Filip Lazović i Naod Zorić The Basic Court in Podgorica found them guilty in the first instance for illegally re-electing Raonić as General Director on June 1, 2023, following the rulings of the Higher Court.

The NGO Media Center, which filed criminal charges against Raonić, the president and some members of the RTCG Council in 2023, said yesterday that it depends on the Podgorica Public Prosecutor's Office whether it will show by initiating criminal proceedings that incitement to commit a criminal offense will be sanctioned, or whether it will show by further delaying or abandoning the proceedings that everything is permitted, as long as there is political support.

"The Media Center expects a final verdict to be announced soon in the case of abuse of official position by four members of the RTCG Council due to disrespect for the court ruling and the illegal re-election of Raonic to the position of general director," said the director of the organization. Goran Đurović.

He claims that the Council members, by their decision, enabled Raonic to acquire illegal material benefits in the form of illegal earnings and other compensation.

"In our opinion, the ODT does not have to wait for a final verdict against the members of the RTCG Council to initiate criminal proceedings and file an indictment against Raonic for inciting members of the RTCG Council to commit a criminal offense," believes Đurović.

He said that, from the statements collected so far from the first-instance convicted members of the RTCG Council as well as the female members of the Council, Marijane Camović Veličković, it is clear that Raonić, together with the head of the legal department and the lawyer of that media company, incited the members to make an illegal decision, intentionally misleading some of them that they did not have to make a decision to cancel the competition or select the general director from the remaining three candidates in the 2021 competition.

The court, he claims, later confirmed that the Council members had violated the law.

On June 3, 2023, the ODT initiated a case on the reappointment of Raonić as the Director General of RTCG on its own initiative. On June 8 of the same year, Media Center filed a criminal complaint with the ODT Podgorica against the president and members of the RTCG Council, Veselin Drljević, Filip Lazović, Naod Zorić, Predrag Miranovića, Amina Murić, because as public officials they refused to execute a final and enforceable court judgment and enabled the unlawfully elected director general to gain illegal benefits. The then director general of RTCG Boris Raonić, a lawyer for RTCG, were also reported. Zorica Đukanović and head of legal department Želimir Mićović on suspicion of inciting the president and members of the Council to commit a criminal offense.

Both criminal reports were consolidated into one case and forwarded to the Special State Prosecutor's Office in July 2023. The Special State Prosecutor's Office investigated this case for approximately 12 months, and the Chief Special Prosecutor Vladimir Novović He claimed, during an appearance on Television Vijesti, that the necessary documentation, minutes and audio recording of the Council session had been obtained, and that persons had been questioned as suspects and witnesses.

In the meantime, several final and appealable judgments have been issued that Boris Raonić was illegally elected for two reasons - that he did not have the necessary qualifications in terms of years of work experience in the VII 1 professional qualification, but also because he was in a conflict of interest at the time of applying for the competition and when he was appointed because he was a member of the Council of the Agency for Electronic Media, which is contrary to the Law on RTCG.

In June 2024, the Special State Prosecutor's Office returned to the Podgorica ODT the case files related to the reappointment of Boris Raonić in June 2023 to the position of General Director. The reason for this, as explained by the special prosecutor and spokesperson for the Special State Prosecutor's Office, Vukas Radonjic, is reflected in the fact that the Law on Amendments to the Law on the Special State Prosecutor's Office determines, among other things, that the Special State Prosecutor's Office is competent for the criminal prosecution of high-ranking public officials, for the criminal offense of abuse of official position, and that members of the RTCG Council and the Director General of RTCG are not high-ranking public officials. Radonjić also said at the time that the criminal case was submitted to colleagues from the ODT, with all the evidence collected during the investigation.