Lubarda: First-instance verdict confirms that the client is not "a little bit crazy"

The president of the trade union organization of the Public Institution Day Care Center for Children and Youth with Disabilities and Developmental Difficulties Tivat (DC), Zoran Lubarda, yesterday called on the director of that public institution, Srđan Krunić, to tell the public whether he stands by his positions expressed at the Tivat Municipal Assembly session last year regarding the incident that occurred with one of the residents of that public institution, after the Basic Court in Kotor issued a first-instance verdict that a defectologist at that public institution was guilty of child abuse.

The case of abuse of a child with an autism spectrum disorder in that institution occurred in February last year. In the meantime, defectologist Ognjen Begenišić was found guilty of this in the first instance verdict of the Basic Court in Kotor, which he appealed. The Basic State Prosecutor's Office in Kotor, in a specially formed case, is still investigating the responsibility of other employees of the DC in this regard in the investigation phase.

Last year, the president of the DC Trade Union, Zoran Lubarda, reported to the police, but not to the director of that public institution, a case of physical abuse of an eight-year-old DC resident by a special education teacher at that public institution.

Begenišić, as the police announced, repeatedly hit the eight-year-old boy in the head with his open fist, which they stated was "confirmed by seized video surveillance footage from the institution."

However, after reviewing the video surveillance footage, it turned out that not only the special education teacher was present at the incident, but also two other employees at the DC - a caregiver and a nurse, and that the caregiver acted even more harshly towards the upset child than the special education teacher who was reported for it.

Krunić, who was absent from the JU when the incident occurred, was not reported to this incident by any of the three employees who were present, except Lubarda. Because of this, he initiated disciplinary proceedings against all of them. The president of the Lubarda Trade Union, with whom Krunić had been in conflict for a long time, subsequently opened a sick leave.

Lubarda announced yesterday that he was not treated according to the same standards as other employees in this case, and that the director did not apply the same measures to him as to the other employees involved in this incident.

In a statement delivered to the media yesterday, Zoran Lubarda said that numerous questions regarding this incident, as well as other aspects of the DC's work, "have not received adequate answers even after several months," and, as he stated, they concern "the legality of the institution's work, relations with employees, and the responsibility of management."

"Of particular concern is the fact that the director of the institution, at the Tivat Municipal Council session held on April 16, 2025, described the treatment of an eight-year-old child as being 'a little bit naughty'. Such a statement raises serious concerns, bearing in mind that allegations about the content of the first-instance court verdict have been made public in the meantime, which raise serious questions about the way this event was presented to the councilors and citizens of Tivat," Lubarda said, emphasizing that the allegations from the first-instance court verdict against the defectologist "indicate significantly more serious circumstances of the case."

"Instead of focusing on establishing responsibility and protecting the interests of the child, throughout the entire case we have witnessed attempts to redirect public attention to the Union and its representatives," claims Lubarda, adding that "union representatives have become the subject of public debate, disciplinary proceedings and pressure while key questions have remained unanswered."

He said that as president of the Syndicate, he would not "allow responsibility for the situation in the institution to be shifted to those who pointed out the problems" and emphasized that "the Syndicate is not the cause of the problem, but the voice of employees who demand legal work, professional responsibility, transparency and equal treatment for all."

Lubarda called on the director of the DC, Srđan Krunić, to tell the public whether he still stands by the statement he made last year at the municipal council session that the child was "a little bit upset" and to explain "on what basis he made such an assessment of the event."

He also asks the director to explain the criteria by which Krunić conducted disciplinary proceedings against some employees "and union representatives", and whether they were all treated in the same way and whether the same measures were taken against them all.

Lubarda concluded that "if it turns out that councilors and the public were presented with inaccurate, incomplete and misleading information, the issue of professional, moral and managerial responsibility of all those who participated in it must be raised."