The Special State Prosecutor's Office (SDT) charges the mayor of Mojkovac, Vesko Delić, with illegally abusing his official position in February 2022, even though he knew it was prohibited, when appointing the heads of the Municipal Police and the Protection and Rescue Service in that city, Mileta Šutović and Marinko Medojević. The indictment alleges that Delić appointed them without a previously announced competition, despite the fact that they did not meet the requirements for the positions.
"The evidence collected during the investigation gives rise to a reasonable suspicion that the defendant, in February and March 2022, in Mojkovac, unlawfully abused his official position and powers, and made decisions contrary to the Law on Local Self-Government, the Law on Communal Police, the Law on Protection and Rescue, and the Rulebook on Internal Organization and Systematization of Jobs, by which he appointed persons who did not meet the prescribed conditions as acting heads of the Communal Police and commanders of the Municipal Protection and Rescue Service, and thus obtained benefits for them in the form of employment and paid salaries," said Vukas Radonjić, spokesperson for the SDT.
Delić's legal representative, attorney Velibor Marković, says that he pleaded not guilty to the crime he was charged with.
"He explained that he was not a lawyer, but a political scientist, that such a practice of appointments had existed for years, that there was no legal service in the Mojkovac Municipal Council, but rather that he had requested an opinion from certain lawyers from the secretariat, as well as a lawyer with whom a consulting contract was later concluded, and that in the Mojkovac Municipality, despite persistent efforts, it was not possible to provide managers for those positions, and the situation was critical, especially considering the fire season in that area. He also explained that the aforementioned persons had done their job extremely well, that they had submitted diplomas of higher education and a certificate of ability to work in the protection and rescue service," Marković stated.
Delić's defense attorney also believes that this case does not constitute a criminal offense:
"Without the intention of prejudging the outcome of this criminal proceeding, I am of the opinion that these are not actions that constitute a criminal offense, but rather "Par excellence" in the field of labor relations. What I can claim is that in the long-standing legal practice of courts and prosecutors' offices in Montenegro and the former Yugoslavia, such actions have never been treated as a criminal offense, but rather a possible violation during selection led to the initiation and conduct of a labor dispute," he said.
Although the SDT submitted the indictment against Delić to the Higher Court back in October last year, there has been no information about this in the media to date, nor has there been any information that the trial has begun in the meantime...
Incidentally, in addition to the criminal proceedings, an administrative case is also being conducted against Delić, in which the inspection of the Ministry of Public Administration twice, in 2022 and 2024, found irregularities in the selection of the heads of the Municipal Police and the Protection and Rescue Service, as well as the municipal manager, and requested that they be eliminated.
The first time this was done was by dismissing them at the end of 2022, but Delić, according to our information, soon reappointed them to these positions.
The inspection reacted and in 2024, it again identified irregularities and requested that they be resolved.
Delić, however, did not do that...
Vesko Delić was a member of parliament from the For the Future of Montenegro coalition, but due to the election for mayor of the Municipality of Mojkovac in August 2023, he resigned from his seat due to the incompatibility of the positions.
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