Ilir Đokaj was sentenced in the first instance before the High Court in Podgorica to 40 years in prison for the murder of Šejla Bakija (19) and the wounding of her father Šaban, committed in September 2021, on Karabuško polje in Tuzi.
The higher court sentenced Đokaj to a long-term prison term of 40 years for aggravated murder, four years for attempted murder and wounding Saban Bakija, and one year in prison for illegal possession of weapons.
After that, the court imposed a single prison sentence of 40 years.
The first-instance verdict was announced by the president of the council, judge Veljko Radovanović. He said in the explanation of the verdict that Đokaj killed Šejla Bakija out of base motives and feelings of selfishness.
The judge said that the defendant's defense that he was threatened when he came to the Baki family's house was not accepted.
Lawyer Srđan Lješković, Đokaj's defense attorney, told reporters after the court handed down the verdict today, that the verdict was brought under pressure and that the courts take such decisions lightly. He pointed out that no defense evidence was presented in this proceeding.
"In the explanation of the verdict, it was said that all the evidence was presented. I now publicly ask the question: what evidence is that? The evidence proposed by the prosecution and non-governmental organizations. This verdict was passed due to pressure. Let me take you back to the beginning of this trial: on Mrs. Oana Kristina "Pop, on Zdravko Krivokapić, Dritan Abazović, the president of the Municipality of Tuzi, all the NGOs in Montenegro that put pressure on the court. I think that this verdict was passed through pressure on a sentence of 40 years," said Lješković.
He added that the court rejected all the evidentiary proposals of the defense.
"Of course the defense will file an appeal, especially since every one of our requests to present evidence was rejected. I believe that the evidence we proposed, if we had presented it, it is certain that the verdict would have been different," concluded Lješković.
Lawyer Tijana Živković, the representative of the injured family, told reporters that the verdict was some sort of satisfaction for the injured family. He believes that the verdict is based on the evidence.
Earlier, during the trial, she asked the court to sentence the defendant to 40 years in prison. This was also proposed by the representative of the prosecution, state prosecutor Ana Radović.
In the indictment of prosecutor Radović, it is stated that Đokaj committed criminal acts - aggravated murder, attempted murder and illegal possession of weapons and explosive materials.
Lawyer Živković said in her closing statement that the evidence presented in the evidentiary proceedings at the main trial, both material and personal, fully confirmed the allegations of the indictment, and that the defense was completely refuted.
Đokaj said in his closing speech that whatever the verdict is, it will not be greater than the sentence he sentenced himself to. "Sheila will continue to live on through my pictures and memories. If I could turn back time, everything would be different, I would be in her place, and she would be alive. Only God knows the truth about this," Đokaj stated at the time.
During the trial, Lješković said that Đokaj confessed to the commission of the criminal acts, even though he had to defend himself all the time.
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