PODGORICA, 17.07.2023. – The Supreme Court of Montenegro confirmed the acquittal of journalist Jovo Martinović, which finally ends the almost eight-year court saga.
In January of this year, the Court of Appeal acquitted the journalist of the charge of placing narcotic drugs on the market. That decision was appealed by the prosecution, which insisted on the thesis that Martinović participated in those activities.
Journalist has been exposed to court proceedings for almost eight years, during which he spent almost a year and a half in custody, all because of accusations that he was an intermediary in drug dealing within a criminal group.
In October 2015, a joint action by the Montenegrin and Croatian police arrested 17 people, including Jovo Martinović, on suspicion of being drug dealers and members of a criminal organization, headed by Montenegrin citizen Duško Martinović, a former member of an international group of jewel thieves, known as the Pink Panther.
In January 2019, Martinović was sentenced to a year and a half in prison for allegedly participating in international drug trafficking, but the Court of Appeal overturned that decision, citing the absence of a clear connection between the defendants and the crime, and thus sent the case back for retrial.
On October 8, 2020, in a retrial, Martinović was convicted in the Podgorica High Court for mediating narcotics smuggling, and acquitted of the original charge of creating a criminal organization.
With that decision, his sentence was reduced from 18 to 12 months. In March 2021, the Court of Appeal rejected his appeal and upheld the verdict. After the request for the protection of legality, the Supreme Court returned the proceedings to the Higher Court.