On November 23, the trial of the accused police officer Dalibor Ljekočević continued in the Basic Court in Podgorica, for extorting a statement with severe violence from the victim Benjamin Mugoša.
The trial was attended by the defendant Ljekočević, who was brought to the premises of the Basic Court from custody where he is being held on the basis of prosecution for another criminal offense, and the injured party, Benjamin Mugoša, with his representatives, the representative of the prosecution, as well as two of the four summoned witnesses.
The trial began with the questioning of Srđan Korać, deputy head of the criminal police. He said that during that period they were working on solving crimes related to the placement of explosive devices near the restaurant “Grand” as well as the one that was activated near the house of Duško Golubović. He said that they were well prepared for these two cases, and that they informed the prosecutor about it. After receiving information from one person that Benjamin Mugoša participated in the two mentioned criminal acts, on the order of the prosecutor Ivana Šišević, a search was carried out at the location where they had information that Benjamin Mugoša lived. Korać pointed out that he was regularly at work that day, but that he did not meet Mugoša.
He learned the details of Mugoša’s complaint about the alleged torture only from prosecutor Šišević, when he was questioned as a witness, Korać said. He added that they have cameras in the corridors of the criminal police department, but they don’t have them in the offices. The central information system has access to those cameras, but it does not know whether they monitor events 24 hours a day, so it thinks that the cameras record non-stop. Communication with colleagues to whom he is superior is done via radio link or telephone, but it is more often via telephone.
Judge Becić had questions related to the coverage-observation of the terrain before the search, so Korać explained that this means that when the search order is received, which is usually the day before, a wider circle is secured in relation to the facility. When asked if the defendant Ljekočević showed the location of Mugoša, the witness replied that it was possible, that he could not remember exactly, but that he remembered that the search was carried out around 6 am. He also added that he knows that Mugoša sent a letter to the director of the Police Directorate from custody.
Korać confirmed that he was informed that Mugoša refused to give a statement and that he was taken to a polygraph examination. After that, he received information from acting prosecutor Šišević that Mugoša was in the Administration for the Execution of Criminal Sanctions during the period when the bombings took place, and that he could not participate in the crimes that were being investigated during that period. After that information, Korać stated that they contacted their colleagues from UIKS, from whom they received an answer that was forwarded to the prosecution. Based on the answer received, Mugoshi’s detention was terminated. So, from the moment he was deprived of his freedom until he received a response from UIKS, Mugoša was in custody.
Then the witness Danilo Grbović, who is a colleague of dismissed police inspector Ljekočević and who is accused in another proceeding with four other police officers, was also heard for extorting a statement from Marko Boljević with severe violence. Grbović said that in the morning he was engaged in searching the house of Benjamin Mugoša, after they found out that his real address is not in the family house but in Zabjelo, where he lives as a tenant with his girlfriend. He stated that he went to that address and after making sure that it was the right one, he waited for his other colleagues to arrive so that the search could begin. He stated that Mugoša called a lawyer, but that the lawyer told him that he would not come, so they conducted a search and took Mugoša to the premises of the Security Center in Podgorica. He said he knew that Mugoša was placed in the party room. His last activity that day, and regarding Mugoša, was that he took Mugoša to a polygraph examination on the order of his superior, where he stayed for about 15 minutes, after which he returned Mugoša to the same room reserved for parties. At around 11 a.m., he left the building of the Police Directorate because he continued his work outside the building. Grbović confirmed that when they are in the field, they communicate with their superior Chief Korać via radio or telephone.
Although two more witnesses were called to yesterday’s trial, they did not appear, so the next trial scheduled for December 28, 2023. the hearing of Ljubisav Striković, Nemanja Vujošević and Radoman Vujačić is scheduled.
The Civic Alliance will continue to actively monitor this and other trials for torture cases, within the project “Without impunity for violation and violation of human rights in Montenegro”, with the support of the Delegation of the European Union in Montenegro.
