The trial of those accused of wounding journalist Olivera Lakić and murdering Miodrag “Migi” Kruščić in May 2018 was yesterday postponed by the High Court in Podgorica to September 16.
According to Libertas Press, the postponement came at the request of attorney Nikola Ivanović, the defense lawyer for Aleksandar Ljumović, who informed the court that he had not been able to speak with the defendant after he was extradited to Montenegro from Bulgaria on July 10, where he had been arrested on an Interpol warrant.
“Therefore, he needs more time to prepare the defense,” said judge Radovan Vlaović, who presides over the three-member panel conducting the trial.
According to the indictment by special prosecutor Nataša Bošković, on May 8, 2018, Filip Knežević, a resident of Cetinje, shot at Lakić in front of the entrance to the building where she lives.
That night, according to the charges, Filip Bešović was driving him.
In the surveillance of the journalist, which the prosecution claims lasted at least a week, in addition to Knežević, Goran Rakočević, Luka Bulatović, and Veselin Bubanja also took part.
Rakočević and Bešović are also charged with the criminal offense of murder by incitement—according to the indictment, while in custody in Spuž, they later incited Bajram Pista to kill journalist Lakić.
The murder was prevented because, according to the indictment, Pista abandoned the plan and offered to cooperate with the police.
Pista told police that after the attack on journalist Lakić, he was offered €150,000 to kill her after his release from prison.
In addition to Ljumović, Knežević, Bešović, Rakočević, Bulatović, and Bubanja, the indictment by prosecutor Bošković also includes Milan Vujotić, identified as the head of the criminal group, Mario Milošević, Dejan Vukašinović, Goran Vukčević, Darko Lalović, Branislav Karadžić, Mijajlo Stojanović, and Sanja Božović.
As the direct perpetrator of the murder of Podgorica resident Miodrag Kruščić, his fellow citizen Mario Milošević has been identified.
The accused are also charged, among other things, with smuggling 554 kilograms of marijuana from Albania to Montenegro on January 26, 2021, according to earlier statements by the spokesperson for the Special State Prosecutor’s Office, special prosecutor Vukas Radonjić.
Source: Libertas press