Minister of Economic Development Nik Đeljošaj said that the media coverage regarding the arrest of the director of the Agency for the Prevention of Corruption (ASK) Jelena Perović "due to fuel consumption and mileage was a circus."
He also said that Albanians are very grateful to Perović for the verdict she passed in 2016, and that he believes that if she damaged the state budget, that people in Montenegro might be ready to help her return the money.
"I said circus because the Albanians in Montenegro have great respect for Jelena Perović. It is the only institution that she managed, where she was a judge, where she found the strength to pass a conviction for chanting and insulting Albanians, which we see in recent events at matches - where they are called shippers. Albanians are very grateful to her for that action, for these other things, if someone did something, of course, they will be responsible and in that context, which may be related to this case as well. I think they would maybe the Albanians were ready for all these things, if she damaged something, to help her return these funds from what they are, the feelings towards that act from 2016", said Đeljošaj at the press conference after the Government session.
He emphasized that he was speaking as a leader of a political party and not as a representative of the Government. He repeated that he is saying this as the leader of the Albanian National Party and an Albanian, and that the institutions should do their job, and he gives them full support. He added that there should be less politics in the whole process and that he wanted to clarify why he said it was a circus. He pointed out that everyone, including him, should answer to the institutions if they do something and return the money to the citizens.
Perović was arrested yesterday by order of the Special State Prosecutor's Office (SDT) and was detained for up to 72 hours, her legal representative, lawyer Nikola Martinović, confirmed to "Vijesta". Earlier today, she was detained at the SDT, where she was questioned on suspicion of abusing her official position for an extended period of time.
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