(Podgorica, 25 June 2013) – MANS sent a letter today to the EU’s ambassador in Montenegro, Mitija Drobnic, informing him of the unjustified arrest of our activists (who were held for six hours). The letter requested a reaction from the EU.
In the letter, MANS notes that it has been focused on the question of the Podgorica Aluminum Combine (KAP), whose debts the Government and Assembly have continuously dumped on citizens. Many of the documents related to state assistance to the company are being hidden from the public, contrary to the laws of the state and the Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) with the EU.
For this reason, on Friday (June 21), MANS organized a performance in front of the Assembly, following the adoption of a law increasing the VAT. We are convinced that the overburdening of citizens and small businesses with new taxes is being undertaken in order to cover the KAP’s debts (guaranteed by the government in an illegal and non-transparent fashion).
During this performance, several MANS activists were deprived of their freedoms by the Assembly’s security unit. During the arrests, we weren’t informed of the reasons for the detentions. Six hours later, the MANS activists still hadn’t been told the reason for their detention by the police.
Furthermore, the police officers responsible didn’t indicate the reasons for the arrests in their own notes, nor the reasons for detaining the activists so long in the police department (even though they had legal obligation to do so).
Additionally, our lawyer was initially prevented from accessing the detained activists, only doing so after an hour.
Our activists were transported to police detention facilities in an police intervention vehicle, which are to be used for the most serious forms of crime, and whose representatives were responsible for detaining the MANS activists.
For all of these reasons, we are convinced that we’re dealing with the abuse of police powers with the aim of carrying out repression against MANS due to our public stance regarding KAP-related corruption.
The European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Basic Freedoms mandates the right to freedom and security, including the right for anyone who is arrested to know the reasons for their detention, the right to a public defender, the right to see a judge without delay, and to have a fair trial within a reasonable time-frame or be released until the trial.
We’re convinced that the above police actions aren’t appropriate for a state that considers itself an EU candidate and is planning to open Chapters 23 and 24. We expect the EU ambassador in Montenegro to demand the relevant state institutions respect the law and the human rights of anti-corruption activists, as well as the rights of all citizens using their rights to freedom of speech.
