N10.T6 – THE APPELLATE COURT OVERTURNED THE VERDICT OF THE HIGHER COURT AGAINST VESNA MEDENICA
HRA NEWSLETTER 10 – TOPIC 6
The Appellate Court of Montenegro overturned the first-instance verdict by the Podgorica Higher Court, which had sentenced the former head of the Supreme Court of Montenegro, Vesna Medenica, to six months in prison for abuse of official position in the case involving former Basic Court judge Milosav Zekić from Rožaje.
As a reminder, the first-instance guilty verdict was pronounced in November 2024 by Judge Sonja Keković. According to the Special State Prosecutor’s indictment, Medenica is charged with abuse of official position in mid-February 2019, when, as President of the Supreme Court, she enabled Basic Court judge Milosav Zekić from Rožaje not to be temporarily suspended from work, despite a criminal procedure against him being conducted before the Kotor court. By doing so, she unlawfully allowed him to gain benefits.
The Appellate Court found, among other things, that the verdict of the Higher Court was unclear and contradictory.
The Appellate Court determined that the first-instance court committed significant violations of criminal procedure provisions, noting that the verdict was unclear, internally contradictory, and inconsistent regarding the timing of the criminal act, the status of the official involved, and the specific actions constituting the alleged crime. Furthermore, according to the Appellate Court’s assessment, the first-instance verdict lacks reasoning on key facts, while the provided explanations are completely unclear and largely contradict the facts established by the evidence presented during the proceedings, the court’s statement reads.
Health Condition of the Accused Causes Postponement of Hearing in Another Case Against Vesna Medenica
The trial against the former head of the Montenegrin judiciary, Vesna Medenica, and other accused individuals, who are alleged to be part of a criminal group organized by her son Miloš, continued in the Higher Court in Podgorica.
On July 7th, Medenica’s daughter, Marija Medenica-Dulović, testified. She spoke before the judicial panel about the police search conducted at their family home two days after her mother’s arrest. However, the testimony was not completed because the hearing was interrupted due to the poor health of the accused Radomir Raičević, who was sent to the Emergency Center of the Clinical Center of Montenegro due to chest pains. The following day, July 8th, health problems of the accused—Vesna Medenica, Vojin Perunović and Radomir Raičević—again prevented the continuation of the trial.
According to Medenica’s defense attorney Zdravko Begović, she was taken to the Ambulance the previous night due to pain and continued treatment at the “Vaso Ćuković” Special Hospital in Risan. This, he explained, was the reason she did not appear at the hearing.
On the other hand, medical expert Nemanja Radojević, based on documentation, assessed that Medenica was capable of attending the main hearing. Therefore, special prosecutor Vukas Radonjić emphasized that her failure to appear was unjustified.
“Her forced summons is necessary, and her behavior today, as well as similar conduct in the future during the main hearing, will be grounds for us to propose the harshest procedural measure — detention,” assessed Radonjić.
Medenica’s defense attorney responded that there is no need for this and claimed that the prosecutor is trying by all means to create an environment in which Vesna Medenica simulates illness and obstructs the proceedings.
Prosecutor Radonjić also requested that detention be ordered for the accused Perunović due to obstruction of the proceedings, as he was admitted to the hospital in Nikšić for surgery even though the health issue was not urgent. The court will decide on this request after consulting Perunović’s doctor.
The next day, July 9, Vesna Medenica appeared in court and stated that she never requested the postponement of the hearing. She said that due to worsening health, she had to undergo urgent medical examinations but told doctors she could not undergo surgery because the recovery would take months.
The trial then continued with testimonies from Marija Medenica-Dulović and lawyer Marija Šofranac, who stated that the search of the former President of the Supreme Court’s house was conducted even at times when no witnesses were present, which is illegal.
Let us recall that Miloš Medenica, Vesna Medenica’s son, is accused of having formed a criminal organization in 2019, whose members included his mother and other defendants, with the aim of cigarette smuggling and unlawful influence over the judiciary, in order to gain illegal profit and power (for more details, see Bulletin no. 1).
English