Protest against the continuation of prosecution; Šahmanović: They want to wear us down in court hallways, we will not give up
The prosecution of 35 participants in the protest held under Gorica, who raised their voices against the disgraceful awarding of the most significant state prize, the Thirteenth of July Award, to unworthy „unnamed individuals“, continues. This was the message from the gathering organized by the Strategy for a European and Civic Montenegro (STEGA) in front of the Misdemeanor Court in Podgorica, in support of the prosecuted protesters.
Police officers did not appear at today’s hearing, so the next one has been scheduled for April 3, Antena M reports.
Bejto Šahmanović, a member of the Bosniac Democratic Movement (Bošnjački demokratski pokret), who is charged under Article 12 of the Law on Public Order and Peace, thanked all the citizens who came to support them, emphasizing that solidarity is their greatest weapon.
- This represents a continuation of a legal agony. A system that was capable of filing an unlawful and delayed complaint is not capable of bringing this process to an end. They want to wear citizens down through court corridors and in that way force us to give up criticism. We hereby tell them that we will never give up – Šahmanović said.
Attorney Veselin Radulović stated that the persistence of the Police Directorate and the court in continuing these proceedings is concerning, despite, as he said, the undisputed fact that the police exceeded the legally prescribed deadline for initiating the procedure.
- The law is very clear and explicit, and the deadline is 60 days. We all know that the police were present at the scene that day and, if they believed that a misdemeanor had occurred, they were obliged to initiate proceedings within 60 days. But they did not do so, and they justify this by saying that they had sent the list to the State Prosecutor’s Office to assess whether there were grounds for initiating criminal proceedings. This is additionally concerning and points to a very bad intention on the part of the Police Directorate, to try in every possible way to sanction these people, who committed no punishable act but exercised their constitutionally guaranteed fundamental human rights and freedoms, simply because they pointed out something that is of public interest, as we know what the protest was about. In the end, I must emphasize again that the protest was completely civilized, peaceful, and democratic when it comes to the participants, whereas the police response was something else entirely, we witnessed inappropriate repression, the spraying of pepper spray at people who not only offered no resistance but were completely peaceful at that location. However, the proceedings continue, and I still believe that at some point someone in this country, someone from the competent courts, will finally make the decision that must be made, a decision in accordance with the Constitution and the law, to acquit these people of these unfounded proceedings - Radulović stated.