N13.T5 – State Prosecutor Srđa Jovanović Sentenced to Prison for Abuse of Office
HRA NEWSLETTER 13 – TOPIC 5
The High Court in Podgorica, in a retrial, sentenced State Prosecutor Srđa Jovanović of the Basic State Prosecutor’s Office in Kotor to five months in prison for the criminal offense of abuse of office. In the same case, Hakan Arikanand interpreter Mensur Uka were acquitted.
According to the Special State Prosecutor’s Office, Jovanović was convicted of illegally using his official position to obtain a benefit for Duško Pavićević. It was established that, in the minutes of the hearing of Hakan Arikan—who had accused Pavićević of causing injuries—Jovanović entered false information, thereby clearing Pavićević of criminal liability.
The indictment states:
“Subsequently, on 14 February 2022, the defendant Srđa Jovanović destroyed official documents: the minutes of the hearing of the suspect (Case No. 371/20) dated 8 February 2022, and the minutes of the hearing of the witness-victim (Case No. 366/20) dated 8 February 2022. The official documents containing false information were used to avoid ordering a medical examination of the injuries sustained by Hakan Arikan and to issue a decision dismissing the criminal complaint against Duško Pavićević for the offense of serious bodily injury under Article 151 of the Criminal Code of Montenegro, thereby obtaining a benefit for him by not conducting criminal proceedings.”
The retrial decision was issued after the Appellate Court annulled the first-instance verdict at the end of February, noting that it had been issued with significant procedural violations.
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