A group of detainees in Spuž have been on hunger strike for 15 days. More than a hundred of them are dissatisfied with the conditions and the conduct of the court proceedings, and 89 of them are refusing food. At the same time, the number of those who are canceling their powers of attorney for their defense attorneys is growing, which calls into question the holding of the trial.
"Today, the Higher Court in Podgorica received a large number of cancellations of powers of attorney for the main hearings that will be held in the coming period. We will have a very difficult, very unpleasant situation where we will find ourselves in a collapse and the Montenegrin judiciary will be somewhere on the edge of the abyss," said lawyer Zdravko Begović.
He warns that some detentions last for years, and that detainees feel as if they have already been convicted. He considers cases where the court accepts bail, the prosecution appeals, and the decision travels from court to court for months, while the detainee remains, to be particularly contentious.
The Supreme Court maintains that the solution is not in strikes, but in institutional changes and a responsible approach by all participants in the process. They consider the adoption of a new Criminal Procedure Code to be crucial.
The draft of this code has already been sent to the European Commission, and final comments are expected soon so that the document can go before the Government and Parliament.
The Ministry of Justice says that they are also working on improving conditions at UIKS.
"The budget rebalance has fulfilled the prerequisite for intensifying work at UIKS, with the aim of finalizing the initiated project to build a Special Hospital, a registration office and a multifunctional facility. We have also formed a working team to amend bylaws relating to rights during detention," the ministry said.
While Bojan Božović's department hopes for a quick end to the strike, the families of the detainees are announcing a protest in front of the Higher Court in Podgorica at ten o'clock tomorrow.
"That they too should show a kind of rebellion and resistance towards their loved ones. We must talk, all factors of the Montenegrin system and the Ministry of Justice and the Supreme Court and the High Court must somehow find, agree, find a common solution," says Begović.
When asked what the Higher Court will specifically do and how the cancellation of the power of attorney will affect their work, the president of that court, Zoran Radović, did not respond today.
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