For the first time in front of the Montenegrin courts will be presented evidence about connections between authorities and members of organized crime, and all that in the court case which MANS has against the state.
Unfortunately, this does not happen within the investigation of connections of members of National Security Agency (NSA) with drug lord Safet Kalic, but in the lawsuit of NGO MANS against the state for violation of privacy rights and violations of basic human rights.
A new hearing on the complaint of MANS on which it will be aired a video of Safet Kalic’s wedding, will be held on Friday, May 9th, at 9am in front of a judge Ljiljana Soskic, in the Basic Court in Podgorica.
Four years since the video was aired, all activities of the police and prosecution in this regard were focused on the fact to determine the address where it came from and who published the video. Neither the police, nor the prosecution did not examine the relationship of official security structures of Montenegro and persons accused or convicted of the most serious crimes of organized crime.
MANS has filed a lawsuit against against the state in December 2011, after it became apparent that the Police against employed in MANS illegally conducted surveillance techniques, followed our internet communication, all in order to discover who posted on Youtube the video which shows the private gathering of officials from Montenegro NSA with Safet Kalic, Darko Saric, and many members from the Surcin and Zemun gang, responsible for the liquidation of Serbian Prime Minister.
Previously, the Police in May 2010, requested information from the Deputy of Executive Director of MANS, Veselin Bjaceta, and asked him who released the video of Kalic’s wedding on the Internet, while a year later about the same occasion called and the Executive Director, Vanja Calovic. Council for Civil Control of Police for this case said that it is a clear violation of the rights of those employed in MANS.
Order of the police to take illegal measures toward employees of MANS were brought by the Deputy of the Basic State Prosecution in Bijelo Polje, Ljubinka Madzgalj, whose hearing, at the MANS suggestion, as well should be held tomorrow.
Beside her, a hearing is scheduled and for the police officer Sinisa Stojkovic on circumstances of taken steps toward employed in MANS, especially how the police came to the conclusion that the video of Kalic’s wedding is published from the IP address that MANS uses, but also on the circumstances why the police did not investigate the facts relating to the content of the video.
MANS as part of the procedure requested from the Municipal Court in Bijelo Polje to be provided with material collected by illegal monitoring of Internet communication of our employees, but that request was rejected personally by the president of the court with an explanation that “the material is forwarded to the State Supreme Prosecutor, and that the access to it will be possible when he gets it back”. After that MANS contacted the SSP requesting to get the material in question, bearing in mind that it was not filed any criminal complaint against the employees who were subject of secret surveillance. Then, the SSP, Ranka Carapic ignored our request, and the same did the Ministry of Justice when we appealed. Unfortunately, even after we won the case against these two institutions in front of the Administrative Court, we were not able to find out what kind of material the police collected about our employees, because SSP ignores the judgment.
Actions like these from state authorities are already adopted form of pressure and intimidation of those who dare to speak publicly about corruption and organized crime, and explore a very specific relationship between members of the criminal milieu and senior government and political officials.
What is especially concerning is the fact that the institutions which should be the first line of defense against corruption and organized crime, are fully in the service of protecting interests of criminal milieu in Montenegro. Instead to investigate drug trafficking and the role of Montenegrin NSA in these businesses, the police and prosecution deal with those who report corruption and demand to be processed.
MANS
