„By the judgment of the first-instance court, the defendants Veljko Marković, Milan Marković, Dejan Jovanović, Vladimir Erić, Predrag Mirotić, and Nikola Milačić were acquitted of the charges of committing the criminal offense of criminal association under Article 401 paragraph 2 in connection with paragraph 1 of the Criminal Code of Montenegro in conjunction with the criminal offense of aggravated theft under Article 240 paragraph 1 point 1 of the Criminal Code of Montenegro in complicity under Article 23 paragraph 2 of the Criminal Code of Montenegro, while the defendant Katarina Baćović was acquitted on the same legal basis of committing the criminal offense of criminal association under Article 401 paragraph 2 in connection with paragraph 1 of the Criminal Code of Montenegro in conjunction with the criminal offenses of aggravated theft under Article 240 paragraph 1 point 1 of the Criminal Code of Montenegro in complicity under Article 23 paragraph 2 of the Criminal Code of Montenegro and forgery of a document under Article 412 paragraph 2 in connection with paragraph 1 of the Criminal Code of Montenegro,“ it was announced by the Higher Court.
Also, by the same judgment, the defendant Marijan Vuljaj was acquitted of the charge of aiding the perpetrator after the commission of the criminal offense under Article 387 paragraph 2 in connection with paragraph 1 of the Criminal Code of Montenegro. According to Article 239 of the Criminal Procedure Code, the injured party – the Higher Court in Podgorica, was directed to pursue their property claim in civil proceedings, while according to the provision of Article 230 of the Criminal Procedure Code, it was decided that the costs would be borne by the Budget.
„In the opinion of this court, for now, the factual determination and legal conclusion of the first-instance court that it has not been proven that the defendants committed the criminal offenses charged against them cannot be accepted because the factual situation has not been fully and correctly established, the reasons given by the first-instance court in its decision are not the result of a comprehensive and critical assessment of all the presented evidence, as well as the defense of the defendants, primarily Baćović and Vuljaj, nor do they represent a logical and convincing basis for the factual conclusions drawn, which is why it is necessary to annul the first-instance judgment and return the case for a retrial,“ it is stated in the announcement.
Let us remind you, all eight defendants for digging a tunnel to the depot of the Higher Court in Podgorica were acquitted of guilt in the first instance in October last year, with the assertion that it was not proven who dug the tunnel, nor that the defendants committed the criminal offenses charged against them.
The tunnel, which was dug from a rented apartment in a building near the Higher Court to the depot, approximately 30 meters long, was discovered on September 11, 2023, when officials noticed overturned items in the depot.
It stores about 100,000 items: evidence, drugs, weapons, ammunition, explosives. To this day, it has not been reliably determined what has been stolen from it.
The Higher Court is located in the very center of Podgorica, near the highest state institutions – the Assembly, the Government, the Central Bank, and the building of the President of the country.
The defendants were acquitted because, as stated in the judgment, there was no evidence linking them to this case. Namely, the first-instance court reasoned that the presence of their DNA traces was not established either from the tunnel, from the rented apartment, or from the depot itself.
The opening is also located near the room in the Court building where the defendants are brought and held before entering the courtroom.
The tunnel was dug during August 2023, during the summer vacation when most employees were not present.
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