Lazović: Police officers threatened my wife

Former Assistant Director of the Police Directorate Zoran Lazović stated today before the High Court in Podgorica that he was surprised by the treatment of Belgrade-based architect Aleksandar Petrović by state authorities. Testifying via video link from Belgrade, Petrović said that two plainclothes police officers had effectively abducted him from the airport in Podgorica.

Lazović said that he had heard those details for the first time in the courtroom.

- When I heard this, I recognized the same modus operandi that was used against my wife. They demanded a key from her, even though she told them that we did not own an apartment in Budva. They forced her to attend the search and threatened her with criminal liability if a key was found and if she refused to accompany them during the search - Lazović emphasized.

According to Lazović, he learned about the officers’ conduct toward his wife while he was being held in pre-trial detention.

Addressing the judicial panel chaired by Judge Veljko Radovanović, Lazović stated that during his questioning before the Special State Prosecutor’s Office, he had raised concerns about the conduct of officers from the Special Police Department (SPD) toward his wife, but that no action had been taken in response.

As previously reported, Lazović denied the allegations of the SSPO that he had organized a criminal group whose members allegedly included retired Chief Special Prosecutor Milivoje Katnić and suspended prosecutor Saša Čađenović, as well as allegations that he acted in the interests of the Kavač criminal clan. Both Katnić and Čađenović have likewise rejected the charges. To date, none of the witnesses proposed by the SSPO has confirmed the allegations contained in the indictment.