(Podgorica, 1 March 2013) – I am writing to declare that today, in accordance with the law, I submitted complaints to the Minister of Internal Affairs and the Minister of Justice as a result of the Police Directorate (PD) and the Supreme State Prosecutor’s (SSP) silence in relation to processes initiated by MANS. That is, for the past two-and-a-half years, the PD has taken no action on our request for disclosure of the information they collected while carrying outré surveillance of MANS’ internet communications, even though the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) had requested such action. Similarly, SSP Ranka Čarapić, has failed to respond to our request for the same information since last September, even though the courts have already stated that she holds such material and that we have the right to access this information.
I want to remind readers that already in July of 2011, MANS had submitted a freedom of information request to the PD, seeking to gain access to all the information that the police had gathered while surveilling MANS’ internet communications. Given that the police was unwilling to grant our request, we submitted a complaint to the MIA, which ordered the police to comply with our demands within 8 days. However, the police ignored the MIA’s commands, forcing MANS to submit two requests in October and November 2011 to then PD Director Veselin Veljović, with a request to comply with the MIA’s decision.
Nevertheless, Veljović demonstrated that the laws and decisions of state institutions do not apply to him, so he chose to ignore both requests. Then, in July of last year we submitted a urgent request to PD Deputy Director Božidar Vuksanović, who also demonstrated that he does not feel bound to the decisions of state institutions and can ignore such requests.
MANS’ employees submitted a complaint in late-2011 against the state and the PD in order to demand compensation for the violation of their privacy rights and the illegal surveillance of their internet communications with the aim of defending Safet Kalić and the guests at his wedding. During the judicial process, the police claimed that it acted on the basis of a ruling by the Basic Court in Bijelo Polje. We thus directed a request to the President of that court, from whom we obtained a written confirmation that MANS’ employees were under surveillance. That is, the President of the Basic Court in Bijelo Polje informed me in writing that the material that was collected about MANS’ employees was passed on to the SSP and that he will allow me to have access to this material once the SSP returns it to him.
Given that the SSP has failed to initiate legal proceedings against anyone in MANS, in accordance with the law, in September of last year we submitted a request to SSP Čarapić to grant us access to the information gathered while MANS was being surveilled. Nevertheless, Ms. Čarapić similarly demonstrated to us that the laws of this country apparently do not apply to her either, also ignoring our request.
For this reason, I’ve submitted complaints to the Minister of Internal Affairs and the Minister of Justice given the ‘silence’ of the PD and the SSP – i.e. their failure to act upon the requests submitted by MANS – in order to see whether the Ministers are also active accomplices in the illegal surveillance of citizens and in attempts to cover up the abuses of the police and state prosecutors.
The aforementioned actions of the police and state prosecutors demonstrate that for years now citizens have been illegally surveilled on the orders of senior officials in these institutions. These institutions are targeting those who are doing their jobs and are drawing attention to the activities of organized crime structures and high level corruption in Montenegro, as well as highlighting the role of these institutions in protecting criminals flagged by Interpol’s red warrants. It is therefore no surprise that the latest scandal has revealed that even independent media and journalists are under illegal surveillance.
For this reason, I call on you to follow the hearing of MANS employees, concerning illegal surveillance, that will take place in the Basic Court in Podgorica, under presiding judge Vesna Banjević, on 4 March 2013 starting at 9am.
Statement by Veselin Radulovic
MANS Legal Representative
