Bukovica engleski.qxd - Fond za humanitarno pravo

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Bukovica engleski.qxd 15.3.2003 13:53 Page 22 22 Bukovica Together with the suspects they had ”liberated,“ the crowd went to the local hotel where Dačević told them: ”The police have made another mistake. They came to help us but in fact did the opposite. Those who are to blame for this must leave town.“ 39 3.3.1. Dačević trial Montenegrin Radicals staged yet more protests when the trial of Dačević and the other Radicals opened before the High Court in Bijelo Polje on 18 January 1993. Shouting their support for the accused, they demanded that the court deliberate and rule independently, meaning without ”anti-Serb“ influences, and insisted that Dačević could not be tried because of his legislative immunity. The judicial authorities pointed out that immunity was not applicable in Dačević’s case since the criminal charges against him had been brought before he became a deputy. Furthermore, the offenses with which he was charged carry a penalty of over five years in prison, which ruled out the possibility of his invoking parliamentary immunity. The trial deeply divided the Montenegrin public. On one side were members and supporters of the Radical and Serb National Renewal parties and those Serbs and Montenegrins who believed the trial was staged and that it marked the beginning of a settling of scores between the republic’s leaders and refractory Serbs in northern Montenegro. On the other were the Liberals, Muslims in Bijelo Polje and a proportion of the membership of the ruling Democratic Party of Socialists, who considered that the trial was a victory for justice and denoted that the rule of law was finally being established in Montenegro. 39 Ibid.
Bukovica engleski.qxd 15.3.2003 13:53 Page 23 Humanitarian Law Center Hindered frequently by chanting crowds outside the courthouse, disorder in the public in the courtroom itself, and the persistence of one of the defense counsel in regularly appearing in camouflage fatigues even after being cautioned by the judge, the proceedings ended with the acquittal of the defendants of the count of terrorism. The presiding judge, Zoran Smolović, said the court had handed down this decision ”as, even though some of the acts that occurred in Pljevlja could be considered acts of violence that disturbed the public, no evidence was presented that the aim was to take power.“ 40 Dačević was sentenced to one year in prison for violent and disorderly conduct and obstructing police officers in the performance of their duty. The seven attorneys who defended the accused pro bono repeatedly alleged that the trial of Dačević and his party colleagues was used to settle scores between the pro-Serb and the liberal wings in the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Witnesses routinely changed their testimony and one, when the judge warned him against perjuring himself, replied: ”I didn’t know back then that there would be a trial and spoke like I would have talked to a neighbor.“ 41 The Serbian Radical Party defended its members and strongly protested ”against the arbitrary behavior of the Montenegrin regime which, in collusion with the government of Milan Panić 42 on 21 September arrested Čeko Dačević and several other patriots from Pljevlja.“ 43 40 ”Čeko Sentenced,“ Pobjeda, Podgorica, 21 June 1994. 41 ”Witnesses Change Testimony,“ Pobjeda, Podgorica, 21 January 1993. 42 Milan Panić, Yugoslav Prime Minister 1992-1993. 43 ”Parliament or Prison,“ Večernje Novosti, Belgrade, 18 January 1993. 23
Page 1 and 2: Bukovica engleski.qxd 15.3.2003 13:
Page 21: Bukovica engleski.qxd 15.3.2003 13:
Page 73 and 74:
Bukovica engleski.qxd 15.3.2003 13:
Page 75 and 76:
Page 77 and 78:
Page 79 and 80:
Page 81 and 82:
Page 83 and 84:
Page 85 and 86:
Page 87 and 88:
Page 89 and 90:
Page 91 and 92:
Page 93 and 94:
Page 95 and 96:
Page 97 and 98:
Page 99 and 100:
Page 101 and 102:
Page 103 and 104:
Page 105 and 106:
Page 107 and 108:
Page 109 and 110:
Page 111 and 112:
Page 113 and 114:
Page 115 and 116:
show all

Bukovica engleski.qxd - Fond za humanitarno pravo

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?