The retrial of five police inspectors accused of using severe violence in 2020 to extract a statement from Marko Boljević concluded yesterday before Judge Larisa Mijušković Stamatović of the Basic Court in Podgorica, after only one main hearing. The court formally remedied the omission that had led to the previous judgment being overturned by ruling on all motions submitted by the injured party, Boljević. It refused to order a neuropsychiatric examination of him or to admit the findings of international medical experts concerning his psychological and physical injuries. The new judgment is scheduled to be delivered on 14 September at 1:45 p.m.

Police inspectors Danilo Grbović, Dalibor Ljekočević, Bojan Vujačić, Ivan Peruničić and Nemanja Vujošević are accused of using severe violence on 25 May 2020 to extract a statement from Marko Boljević during the investigation into the so-called “bomb attacks” on the home of former security sector official Duško Golubović and the Grand hospitality venue.

At yesterday’s hearing, Judge Mijušković Stamatović rejected the motion submitted by Dalibor Tomović, counsel for the injured party, requesting a neuropsychiatric examination of Boljević. She reasoned that its findings could not lead the court to reach a different decision, thereby indicating that the judgment would be the same as the previous one, which acquitted all the defendants.

Tomović pointed out that the examination was important for assessing the credibility of the injured party’s testimony and the defendants’ statements, establishing the psychological consequences of the alleged torture, and deciding on the compensation claim, including the amount of damages to be awarded.

The court also rejected the motion to admit as evidence the findings of international experts who conducted a medical assessment of Marko Boljević’s injuries. The experts concerned are experienced medical professionals and members of the Independent Forensic Expert Group (IFEG), who have examined several thousand torture victims worldwide. HRA engaged them for this case thanks to urgent financial support from the United Nations Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture.

The three medical experts concluded that the haematomas and abrasions scattered across Boljević’s body—including his neck, chest, arms and legs—as well as the pain and suffering he experienced, were highly consistent with his account that he had been beaten with feet, fists and baseball bats while deprived of his liberty on 25 May 2020. They also established that he was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder as a consequence of the police torture he had endured. The domestic forensic medicine expert, Nemanja Radujević, likewise confirmed that Boljević’s physical injuries could have been inflicted at the police station in the manner he described.

By rejecting both evidentiary motions, the court missed the opportunity to conduct a thorough examination during the retrial of both the physical and psychological consequences of the alleged police ill-treatment. This has further deepened concerns that allegations of police torture are once again not being examined with the seriousness and care required under international standards governing effective investigations into reports of torture.

All participants in the proceedings maintained their previously given statements and agreed that the evidence presented earlier should be read into the record. The prosecution and the defence maintained their previous closing arguments, while attorney Tomović additionally provided a detailed account of the contradictions in the defendants’ statements.

The High Court in Podgorica previously overturned the Basic Court’s acquittal of 17 March 2025 and remitted the case for retrial. It found that the first-instance court had failed to provide reasons concerning decisive facts because it had not ruled on the motion for a neuropsychiatric examination, which had originally been submitted in 2023.

More than six years after Marko Boljević was allegedly tortured and forced to give a false statement, as stated in the indictment, no officer of the Police Directorate has been convicted, nor have the proceedings against the accused inspectors been concluded by a final judgment.

Following the acquittal in March 2025, HRA stated that it demonstrated a troubling approach to the prosecution of torture. The court adopted a critical approach towards the victim, while accepting without critical scrutiny the statements of state officials, including colleagues of the accused officers.

The judge reproached Boljević for failing to report the torture that same evening and doing so “only the following day.” The court also concluded that Boljević’s injuries did not necessarily have to have been sustained during his “treatment” by the police, even though they were consistent with his account, including according to the findings of the domestic forensic medicine expert, whose opinion the court accepted. It was established that the injuries had resulted from at least 11 blows delivered with fists, feet, so-called “volley” kicks and a blunt mechanical object.

Marko Boljević is represented by attorney Dalibor Tomović through an HRA programme financially supported by the United Nations Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture (UNVFVT).