Zogović: The prosecution is protecting the Đukanovićs better than their legal team

The filing of a request for protection of legality by the Supreme State Prosecutor's Office, following the High Court's ruling that the statute of limitations for criminal prosecution had not expired in the "Telekom" case, points to suspicions of the existence of obstructionist monopolies of the former regime at the highest prosecutorial positions, said Milun Zogović, vice president of the Democratic People's Party (DNP).

He stated in a press release that the impression is that the Supreme State Prosecutor is better representing the interests of the former Montenegrin President and Prime Minister and Đukanović than their own legal team.

"According to Bogšić's famous saying: 'What is born a hump, time does not correct', the dilemmas and anxieties that the coalition 'For the Future of Montenegro' shared with the public during the election of the Supreme Court of Justice, as well as the most prominent NGO activists, are now being confirmed. However, this in no way abolishes all of us who raised our hands in favor of the election of the Supreme Court of Justice, suspiciously hoping that a true fight for the rule of law will finally begin, and not a continuation of the practice of preserving the untouchability of the former holders of power, led by the Đukanović family," said Zogović.

He assessed that it is in the public interest of the entire society to find out what motives lie behind this, as he put it, prompt use, or rather abuse, of the right to file a request for protection of legality against a decision of the High Court, with the obvious aim of preventing the court process in the "Telekom" affair.

"When there is corpus delicti, the only way to evade justice is to avoid trial. Of particular concern is the fact that the prosecution, instead of opening a full court procedure and establishing responsibility before the face of justice, has chosen to use legal mechanisms to block the process in favor of the suspects. Assuming that the role of the prosecution is to prosecute perpetrators of criminal acts, such actions further undermine citizens' trust in institutions and reinforce the belief that different rules still apply to certain centers of power. Instead of clarifying all the circumstances of the affair before the court and establishing the full truth, the public is once again witnessing attempts to stop the procedure before the evidence is fully presented and assessed in court proceedings. The Montenegrin judiciary is facing a key test to answer the question of whether we are all equal before the law in Montenegro or whether there are more equal, untouchables who are outside and above the legal system," concluded Zogović.