Basic Court: A Podgorica resident sentenced to prison for breaking into a snack machine is a multiple repeat offender...

The Basic Court in Podgorica has issued a statement regarding the verdict sentencing MI (45) to five years in prison for breaking into a snack machine.

The court states that MI is a multiple returnee, having been convicted 14 times, four of which for the same or similar criminal offenses committed with intent.

"That is precisely why the Criminal Code stipulates that the sentence for a new offense must be above half of the prescribed range. For aggravated theft, the law provides for one to eight years in prison, which means that the court in this case could not impose a sentence of less than four years and six months. The verdict of five years was also confirmed before the High Court. The Basic Court recalls that in several similar cases in recent years it has imposed almost identical sentences on multiple repeat offenders, and that this one is no exception," the Basic Court said.

Three days ago, Television Vijesti published a story about this case, which raised the issue of the uniformity of penal policy in Montenegro, given that the judges of the Special Department have not yet imposed a five-year prison sentence on those who abused their official position while holding the highest state positions.

However, Supreme Court President Valentina Pavličić and High Court President Zoran Radović say that this cannot be compared.

"This is a so-called special returnee and a person who has so far had a serious number of final adjudication cases and sentences that have not achieved either general or individual prevention. What I said cannot be compared incomparably. These are property crimes. Corruption, that's right, is a scourge not only of our system, but of the entire world order," said Pavličić.

"And now, if that person has been convicted ten times for property crimes, what should we do with him - that sentence must be based on the special maximum. If you, for example, were the injured party in that criminal offense, I believe you would be satisfied with that sentence in this specific case," said Radović.