First-instance convictions of Zoran and Luka Bećirović and Mijatović over attack on Pobjeda journalist Ana Raičković overturned
The High Court in Podgorica has overturned the first-instance judgment convicting businessman Zoran Bećirović, his son Luka and their bodyguard Mladen Mijatović for violent conduct toward Pobjeda journalist Ana Raičković and members of her family, the court confirmed to ETV Portal.
The case has been returned to the Basic Court for a retrial, Marija Milovanović, an independent public relations adviser at the High Court, said. According to her, the appeals filed by defendants Zoran and Luka Bećirović and Mladen Mijatović, as well as their lawyers, Danilo Mićović and Marta Šćepanović, were upheld.
- The Basic Court in Podgorica judgment was therefore overturned ex officio, and the case concerning Zoran Bećirović, Mladen Mijatović and Luka Bećirović was returned to the first-instance court for a retrial - the High Court said.
The High Court in Podgorica also rejected as unfounded the appeal filed by the Basic State Prosecutor's Office in Podgorica and upheld the Basic Court's judgment with regard to defendant Ljubiša Dukić.
As a reminder, under the first-instance judgment of the Basic Court in Podgorica, Zoran Bećirović and Mladen Mijatović were sentenced to one year and ten months in prison, while Luka Bećirović received a seven-month suspended sentence. Ljubiša Dukić was acquitted.
According to Vijesti Portal, the High Court found that the first-instance judgment concerning the Bećirovićs and Mijatović was affected by substantial violations of the provisions of criminal procedure.
The appellate panel, presided over by Judge Katarina Padalica, found that the operative part of the first-instance judgment was unclear and contradictory to the reasoning, that reasons had not been provided concerning all material facts, and that some of the reasons given were unclear and mutually contradictory.
The High Court particularly questioned the fact that the description of the acts constituting the criminal offence of violent conduct occupied almost three pages.
- Such a lengthy and detailed factual description in the operative part of the judgment, apart from being contrary to the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Code, renders the operative part of the judgment incomprehensible - the decision states.
The court explained that such a description does not make it possible to distinguish which specific act or group of acts, in legal terms, constitutes violent conduct and which merely represents the context and circumstances of the incident.
The court also pointed out that the protected legal interest in this criminal offence is public order and peace, rather than the protection of individuals from physical assault. Therefore, the operative part of the judgment should have clearly stated which acts endangered the peace and security of citizens and disturbed public order and peace.
The High Court also found inconsistencies in the way the Basic Court assessed Raičković's testimony. The first-instance court found her testimony to be truthful, convincing, clear and precise. However, according to the appellate court, it failed to provide a satisfactory explanation for the discrepancies between the testimony she gave before the prosecution and what she said during the main trial.
As for Dukić, on the other hand, the High Court concluded that his acquittal was correct, stating that the evidence presented did not establish that he had struck the injured parties or behaved violently.
The court said that video footage showed Dukić attempting to prevent the confrontation, separating those involved and protecting Raičković, while it had not been proven that he kicked her son in the head.
Bećirović and Mijatović were convicted of violent conduct toward Pobjeda journalist Ana Raičković and members of her family on November 10, 2024, outside the „Gurman“ restaurant in Podgorica's Blok 5 neighbourhood.
The convictions were handed down on April 24, 2025, by Ilija Radulović, a judge of the Basic Court in Podgorica.
J. B.