All defendants in Montenegro's coup attempt case acquitted

(Patria) - All defendants in the "coup attempt" case in Montenegro were acquitted today by a decision of the High Court, Montenegrin Pobjeda has learned.

The decision was made by a three-member judicial panel led by judge Zoran Radović.

The acquitted, including former Democratic Front leaders Andrija Mandić and Milan Knežević, were previously accused of attempting to violently overthrow the government in 2016, ahead of Montenegro's accession to NATO.

The verdict against the defendants for attempted terrorism on the day of the parliamentary elections in Montenegro, in which all were sentenced to prison terms, was overturned three years ago by the Court of Appeal, and a retrial was ordered.

The Special Prosecutor's Office, led by Chief Special Prosecutor Vladimir Novović, elected after the political changes in 2020, fully upheld the previous indictment, which was represented by the now arrested former Chief Special Prosecutor Milivoje Katnić and former special prosecutor Saša Čađenović, Pobjeda reminds.

New special prosecutors proposed to the court that the organizers of the criminal group, Russian citizens Eduard Shishmakov, be sentenced to 15 years, and Vladimir Popov to 12 years.

They also requested that the former commander of the Serbian Gendarmerie, Bratislav Dikić, be sentenced to a unified prison term of eight years. For Predrag Bogićević and Nemanja Ristić, prison sentences of seven years each were proposed in the closing arguments.

For Branka Milić, the Special Prosecutor's Office proposed a three-year prison sentence, while for Milan Dušić and Srboljub Đorđević, one year and six months each were requested, and for Dragan Maksić, one year and nine months in prison.

For Mihailo Čađenović, one year and six months in prison was requested.

For Kristina Hristić, a suspended sentence was proposed.

The indictment states that the criminal organization intended to clash with the Montenegrin police on the day of the parliamentary elections on October 16, 2016, with the help of the Democratic Front, and to violently seize the Parliament of Montenegro, as well as to abduct and kill the then Prime Minister of Montenegro, Milo Đukanović.