Investigation and Suspicion

Problems were announced immediately following the release of the arrested individuals, as well as the names of those who are claimed to be on the territory of the Republic of Serbia.  According to the announcement issued by the Higher Court in Podgorica, the suspects on Serbian territory are Vladimir Jovanovic (a.k.a. The Jap) and Dusan Spasojevic, along with two other unidentified individuals detailed descriptions are on record.  Already after initial hearings of the brothers Lovric, Ivan and Milan, the President of the Higher Courts of Podgorica, Milan Radovic complained to journalists that the Belgrade Police Department is not acting according to procedure and that it has not arrested Dusan Spasojevic who, after his name was announced, showed up at the Belgrade Police Department with his lawyer and left the building soon after without any problems.

At that point Vuk Draskovic's lawyer, Borivoje Lovric, stated that he is more than satisfied with the work of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Montenegro and the results of the investigation achieved in a very short period of time.  "As far as the investigation is concerned, I don't think much more could have been achieved and I believe that the justice system will solve this criminal act, and that if full cooperation with the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Serbia takes place, those who commissioned this assassination will also be sitting on the bench of the accused," Borivoje Borovic stated for VREME.

His colleague, Branislav Tapuskovic, added the following: "You heard that the President of the Court stated that there is information indicating that one of the suspects in this case entered the Belgrade Police Department accompanied by his defendant.  For the first time in my career as a lawyer I hear that someone came to a police building with a lawyer, because as a rule lawyers do not have access to that place; and what is more interesting is that he exited the building, was not arrested, and is supposed to be here at the Higher Court in Podgorica for interrogation.  Therefor if a suspect in something of this sort was allowed to leave the police department, that is cause enough for us to ponder."

Expectations that Belgrade will not respond to official requests issued from Podgorica became true.  According to legal experts, the failure to hand over Dusan Spasojevic is being explained in very unusual terms.  Serbian Police Lieutenant Colonel Miodrag Gutic, Chief of the Department for Homicide and Sexual Offences of the Belgrade Police Department, responded publicly to the complaints voiced by Podgorica by saying that warrants for the arrest of Jovanovic and Spasojevic had never officially reached Belgrade.  However, Investigating Judge Zoran Zivkovic responded by saying that on June 21 an order was given to the Criminal Department of the Podgorica Police Department for issuing a warrant for the arrest of Jovanovic and Spasojevic and that this warrant was handed to the Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs on June 21 at 22:10:00 hours.  Zivkovic goes on to say that on June 21 officials at the Podgorica Police Department informed him that the Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs sent a telegram, no. 13895, informing the Montenegrin Police that Spasojevic had come to the Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs offices with his lawyer, and that Montenegrin Police officials are being requested to come to Belgrade for interrogating the suspect.  "On the same day I issued a written order to the Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs to arrest Spasojevic and to send him to Podgorica with out further delay," Zivkovic stated and added that it is incomprehensible that the Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs is not acting according to orders received from the courts, but is first denying every having received any warrants, and is then taking on the role of judge and jury and is establishing an alibi for the suspect Spasojevic, going as far as to demand that Montenegrin officials come to Belgrade in order to interrogate the suspect.

"A criminal investigation is taking place in Podgorica and it is the duty of the Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs to arrest individuals for whose arrest a warrant has been issued and to hand them over to the Higher Court in Podgorica," Judge Zoran Zivkovic asserted categorically.

The reaction of officers at the Montenegrin Ministry of Internal Affairs is one of ambivalent humor.  However, it is a question whether the names of additional suspects will be released.  Unofficially, their identities have been ascertained and their names are being expected since last week.  Their names, however, have not been released as this issue of VREME is going to print, with general opinion that if their names are not released, they are more likely to appear on the stand, then if warrants for their arrest are issued to the Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs in Belgrade.

Branislav Tapuskovic stated for VREME that after the announced hearing of the witnesses in this case, scheduled but not held on June 27, he is slowly becoming doubtful as to the investigation itself: "I do not want to speak about what the various suspects and witnesses said, for we agreed not to release any information regarding this, even though the defenders of the accused have not honored this.  However, today we ascertained something that is very cute.  Witnesses who are supposed to be interrogated and who have a very important place in this investigation, namely Nikola and Vaso Ulic, who live in Australia but came to Budva several months ago, that they have left the country and are already in Italy, and I believe that they have even left that country by now.  On the other hand, Zeljko Bozic, also a witness who was supposed to be heard, left Montenegro for Serbia.  Now it is necessary to seek his hearing in Serbia.  Therefore, witnesses are disappearing into the thin air, they are being permitted to leave Montenegro.  I do not wish to be prejudicial, but I must state that they are no longer in Montenegro.  In whose interest this is, I don't know, but in any case it casts a certain degree of suspicion."

Tapuskovic stated that he does not want to discuss where they could have possibly gone, but they did not appear at their hearings, while their departure could have been prevented for as long as they did not fulfill their civil obligations of acting as witnesses: "I do not want to say what position they are in, but they are very important witnesses and it seems to me that we hit a barrier which is very large hole in the investigation up to now.  It is not good for this investigation, it is not good for solving the problem we are facing and for establishing everything that happened to Vuk Draskovic."

Lawyer Tapuskovic noted that there is unreasonable delay in hearing the injured Vuk Draskovic himself, while he should have been heard immediately after the accused.  Vuk Draskovic is in a condition that will permit him to testify.  He is very calm and collected, and this should be carried out immediately, Tapuskovic asserts categorically.

The Montenegrin Police and Investigating Judge Zivkovic refuse to disclose any details except that the investigators are working every day, that witensses are being heard and that the public will be informed of everything in good time.

When that will happen remains to be seen, for it is a fact that in a state in which the legal system  is in such a shambles, in which witnesses and suspects are outside the reach of the investigators simply because they leave for Serbia, that the investigation will hardly be solved without considerable problems.