Today, the trial continued before the Basic Court in Podgorica for the case of extortion of testimony by serious violence against the victim Benjamin Mugoš by police inspector Dalibor Ljekočević, during which two witnesses, Ljubiša Striković and Nemanja Vujošević were heard. At the time of the critical event, both were police inspectors of the Criminal Police Station for the Suppression of Blood Offenses and Domestic Violence in the Podgorica Security Center. The third witness – Radoman Vujačić, as well as the defendant, Ljekočević, did not appear at the hearing.
We remind you that, on May 27, 2020, Benjamin Mugoša was detained at the Podgorica Security Center as a suspect for “bombing attacks” related to the activation of an explosive device near a catering facility in Podgorica, as well as another one that was activated near the house of the former police chief functionary. The very next day, May 28, 2020, Mugoša reported allegations of torture.
The first witness – Ljubiša Striković stated that on that day related to the critical event, they held a meeting in the morning at the police station, where they agreed on an action regarding the search and observation of locations where persons of security interest are staying. That day, they had to search several locations, but he does not remember which locations and whether they had a search warrant or were waiting for it. As he states, the planned searches included the search of Benjamin Mugoša’s house, but he could not say whether Dalibor Ljekočević was conducting an observation or a search at Mugoša’s address. The record of the search does not state who performed the observation, nor does anyone keep records of who is sent for observation on a specific day. On May 27, he was at his workplace and met Ljekočević only during the morning meeting and later in the City kvart during the observation of an apartment. Striković stated that he did not see Benjamin Mugoša in the police station, nor that he knew anything about the procedure that was carried out against him, to which Mugoša stated that he did see the witness Striković, but that he was not allowed to contact him. Striković added that no one is addressed as “boss” in their circles and that it cannot be Ljekočević in particular because they all have the same status, except for Korać, who was in charge of them.
The second witness – Nemanja Vujošević, who is currently suspended due to the ongoing proceedings related to allegations of torture, pointed out that on the critical day, due to the lack of police personnel, several police services helped each other. He states that the first address he searched was Benjamin Mugoša’s house in Donja Gorica and that he is not sure whether Dalibor Ljekočević attended it, but he thinks he did. After they found out that Mugoša now lives at another address, Vujošević returned to the police station to get a search warrant, after which he was at that address around 9 am. There, they found Mugoša, who was correct, so the search took place without any problems, with the presence of his lawyer, Damir Lekić. He stated that he thought he and his colleagues had tactical vests and did not have phantom vests. However, the first witness stated that Ljekočević was not wearing a tactical vest while searching the apartment in the City kvart.
Vujošević continued his presentation by saying that Ljekočević did not attend the search of Benjamin Mugoša’s new address in Zabjelo. After bringing Mugoša to the police station around 10:20 a.m., they then continued with another task in Zagorič, where, according to Vujošević, Dalibor Ljekočević was observing. The search at that location lasted a long time, until 4 – 5 p.m. However, Vujošević also claims that, when it comes to the observation process, the minutes do not include who are the persons who do it, nor are records of the distribution of the Police Directorate officials daily. He added that he did not meet Ljekočević at the police station on a critical day or know his whereabouts after the search in Zagorič. He also stated that they do not call each other by the nickname “boss”, except that they sometimes call Srđan Korać that way, who is their superior. The prosecutor asked who Dalibor Ljekočević was with at the location during the observation, to which the witness Vujošević replied that he did not remember and that he saw him in an official vehicle with tinted windows (he saw him through the driver’s window while passing by).
The next hearing is scheduled for April 11, 2024, at 11 a.m., when police inspector Ivan Peruničić will be heard as a witness. The defendant Ljekočević’s defense counsel, proposes to obtain the records from the search of the house in Zagorič for the next hearing and to question Peruničić, who was in the car with the witness Nemanja Vujošević during that action.
The Civic Alliance will continue to actively monitor this and other trials for torture cases, as part of the project “No impunity for violation and breach of human rights in Montenegro”, with the support of the EU Delegation in Montenegro and co-financing by the Ministry of Public Administration.
