The beginning of the trial of the accused for the shooting of Montenegrin journalist Olivera Lakić and the murder of Miodrag-Migi Kruščić in May 2018 has been postponed for the third time at the High Court in Podgorica.
This time, the trial was delayed because lawyer Stefan Jokić, who represents the accused Goran Vukčević, failed to appear in court due to the ongoing lawyers’ strike in Serbia.
In a letter to the court, Jokić stated that the Bar Association of Serbia had suspended work for 30 days based on a decision made at its Assembly on February 2. According to this decision, during the suspension, lawyers would ensure a minimum level of work by only submitting appeals and lawsuits to courts, prosecutors, and other authorities where failure to meet deadlines would result in the loss of certain rights.
Lawyers in Serbia are on strike in support of students’ demands and in protest against the threats to the independence and autonomy of the legal profession.
Today, Judge Igor Đuričković stated that it is “more than obvious” that Jokić’s absence is an obstruction, emphasizing that this was a case in which the lawyer was required to attend.
The judge ordered that Jokić be fined €1,000.
Furthermore, Judge Đuričković rejected as unfounded a request for his recusal, which had been submitted by the defendants Mario Milošević and Goran Rakočević at the previous hearing on January 31. Due to their request, the trial was postponed at that time.
The trial will continue tomorrow.
According to previous reports by the Libertass news portal, the indictment, filed by the Special State Prosecutor’s Office on December 7, 2023, includes: Milan Vujotić, a high-ranking member of the Kavač criminal clan, Former police officer Darko Lalović, Filip Knežević, Mario Milošević, Goran Rakočević, Veselin Bubanja, Filip Bešović, Luka Bulatović, Dejan Vukašinović, Branislav Karadžić, Goran Vukčević, Mijajlo Stojanović, Aleksandar Ljumović and Sanja Božović.
Filip Knežević, who is currently at large, has been accused of shooting Olivera Lakić on May 8, 2018, in front of the entrance to her apartment building in Podgorica. Lakić was shot in the leg.
Mario Milošević has been identified as the direct perpetrator of the murder of Podgorica resident Miodrag Kruščić.
He is suspected of killing Kruščić on May 21, 2018, while the victim was sitting in a café in the Stari Aerodrom district of Podgorica.
In addition to these charges, the defendants are also accused of smuggling 554 kilograms of marijuana from Albania to Montenegro on January 26, 2021, according to Special Prosecutor Vukas Radonjić, a spokesperson for the Special State Prosecutor’s Office.