Centre for Civic Education (CCE) received today an act from Basic State Prosecution (BSP) from Podgorica, regarding the case Cc no.262/15 dated on 12 January 2016, which informed us that criminal charge which CCE submitted against Sanja Vlahović from Bar, due to the criminal offense of violation of moral rights of author and interpreter from Article 233, paragraph 1 of CC, was once again rejected due to the alleged statute of limitations of criminal prosecution.
CCE reminds tha acting Deputy State Prosecutor Vukas Radonjić passed an identical decision in August of 2015 which was annulled by Higher State Prosecution based on previous complaint of CCE. Hence, CCE expressed utmost concern due to the persistence of prosecutor Radonjić to protect minister Vlahović in spite of the binding instructions from Higher State Prosecution. Radonjić ignored the decision of Higher State Prosecutor Olivera Ražnatović which unambiguously entailed BSP from Podgorica to determine all facts relevant to pass a proper and lawful decision in present criminal matter, and afterwards adopt a merit-based decision, and this decision cannot be the same one which was already annulled.
As a reminder, Higher State Prosecutor found that previous decision on rejection was essentially based on partially determined factual state in terms of the time of statute-barred prosecution which Radonjić had to acknowledge. Instead, Radonjić continued protecting minister Vlahović, suspected of plagiarism, directly and without any legal ground, which led to the reasonable suspicion that Radonjić’s decision is a result of political pressure, and not of professional and responsible acting.
Apart from the fact that such behaviour presents a direct disregard of superior instance, it should be emphasised that by doing this, Radonjić further jeopardised the already long-term systematic violation of integrity of Prosecutor’s office, thus empowering the conviction that Prosecution gladly and zealously processes those who lost the sympathy of president of DPS and Government Milo Đukanović, while his favourites enjoy different standards.
CCE hopes that Higher State Prosecution will repeat its decision based on law, and come up with an instrument to prevent the establishment of harmful ping-pong practice in State Prosecution which gravely violates legal certainty and public interest. In this particular case, we established all of the prerequisites necessary to launch a procedure against minister Vlahović before the competent prosecution, if we eliminate the inappropriate political influence, and apply the law concisely. In this conviction, CCE filed new complaint to Higher State Prosecution today.
Daliborka Uljarević, Executive Director