N14.T4 – Montenegrin Judges and Prosecutors – From Passing Verdicts to Facing Them
HRA NEWSLETTER 14 – TOPIC 4
Criminal proceedings have been initiated against 11 former and current judges and state prosecutors in Montenegro on suspicion of having committed crimes — ranging from abuse of office and forgery of documents to membership in criminal organisations and leaking classified information. Currently, three of those proceedings are in the main trial phase, one is under investigation, five ended with non‑final verdicts, and two with final convictions. Four proceedings were initiated with evidence from “Sky” communications.
These cases — involving even former high‑ranking judicial officials — signal serious challenges in terms of accountability, integrity, and public trust in Montenegro’s judicial system.
Three criminal cases are pending against the former President of the Supreme Court, Vesna Medenica.
In the first case — initiated among other evidence based on “Sky” correspondence — she is accused of being a member of the criminal organisation formed by her son, Miloš, for the purposes of cigarette smuggling and exerting unlawful influence over the judiciary; the case is now in the main trial phase after more than three years and over 30 postponed hearings
In the second case, Medenica received a first-instance sentence of six months’ imprisonment for abuse of office, due to her unlawful decision to keep Judge Milosav Zekić in his post. Human Rights Action, acting on an anonymous report, informed the Judicial Council that Zekić had been definitively convicted of endangering safety and causing minor bodily injury.
In the third case — also initiated on the basis of “Sky” communications — Medenica was found guilty in a non-final judgment of abuse of office for exerting influence on Judge Milica Vlahović-Milosavljević, and was sentenced to one year and nine months of imprisonment. In the same judgment, Vlahović-Milosavljević was also found guilty of abuse of office for rendering a decision in favor of Rade Arsić — Medenica’s godfather — and to the detriment of the Moscow-based company “Ten,” and was sentenced to six months in prison.
Former Chief Special Prosecutor Milivoje Katnić and former Special Prosecutor Saša Čađenović are accused, as members of a criminal organisation allegedly organized by police officer Zoran Lazović, of forming a criminal organisation and abusing official position. This case, also initiated with “Sky” communications provided by Europol, concerns allegations that Katnić and Čađenović abused their functions in favour of members of a criminal group linked to the “Kavački” clan. The case is currently in the main trial phase before the Higher Court in Podgorica.
Criminal proceedings are also underway against the former President of the Commercial Court, Blažo Jovanić; the Special State Prosecutor’s Office charges him with forming a criminal organisation and multiple counts of abuse of office, alleging that he organized a group that unlawfully influenced bankruptcy proceedings. The case is at main trial stage.
State Prosecutor Andrijana Nastić of the Higher State Prosecutor’s Office in Podgorica is suspected of leaking classified data to a criminal organisation allegedly run by businessman Aleksandar Mijajlović. This case was also launched based on “Sky” communications.
Judge Dragan Mrdak of the Higher Court in Bijelo Polje was acquitted by a non‑final verdict of charges of abuse of office and forgery of official documents in a case before the Higher Court in Podgorica. According to the indictment, Mrdak had issued a judgment sentencing two defendants to nine‑month prison terms, then forged and issued a new decision dismissing the charges due to statute‑of‑limitations and encouraged the court clerk to enter false information into the official record.
Former state prosecutor at the Basic State Prosecutor’s Office in Kotor — now attorney Srđa Jovanović — was non‑finaly sentenced to five months in prison for abuse of official position. According to the indictment of the Special State Prosecutor’s Office, Jovanović, as a public official, unlawfully prepared official notes from hearings, thereby wrongfully using his position to procure benefit for an accused.
Suspended state prosecutor Grujo Radonjić from the Higher State Prosecutor’s Office in Podgorica was acquitted of charges of usury. The indictment against Radonjić had been filed seven years ago. According to the indictment, Radonjić allegedly earned almost €44,000 after the injured party — Danilo Pejović — agreed over more than three years to repay the loan with monthly interest payments between €650 and €1,000. The first‑instance court in Kotor sentenced him to one year imprisonment; the Higher Court later overturned that verdict and returned the case for re‑trial, after which Radonjić was acquitted.
Former special state prosecutor Lidija Mitrović was sentenced to seven months in prison for abuse of official position. Between November 2020 and December 2021, she suspended criminal proceedings against four individuals suspected of tax evasion by applying deferred prosecution, even though legal conditions for such a measure were not met.
Former judge of the Basic Court in Podgorica, Danilo Jegdić, was sentenced to six months of house arrest for forgery of official documents. He was accused of falsifying six minutes between 16 September 2014 and 12 April 2016, although in one case the statute of limitations had expired due to lengthy court proceedings before the Basic Court in Nikšić. The proceedings against Jegdić followed a criminal complaint filed by the Podgorica‑based entrepreneur Mladen Bulatović, with whom Jegdić had acted in a dispute where Bulatović was one of the parties.
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