In a significant development at the High Court in Podgorica, former police officer Nikola Janičić testified that he was never pressured to exclude any individual from a criminal complaint. This statement was made during the ongoing trial of former Special Prosecutor Milivoje Katnić, ex-police official Zoran Lazović, and suspended prosecutor Saša Čađenović.
Janičić, who previously worked in the Organized Crime Sector, spent over three hours answering questions from the accused and their legal representatives. He emphasized that neither Lazović, Katnić, nor Čađenović had ever asked him to grant any privileges to members of organized crime groups. “Zoran Lazović never called me to say that a particular person should not be prosecuted, especially not Duško Roganović,” Janičić stated firmly.
The prosecution alleges that Special Prosecutor Miloš Šoškić has implicated Lazović in establishing a criminal organization, which purportedly included retired prosecutor Katnić and suspended prosecutor Čađenović, who is accused of working for the Kavački clan. Lazović is also accused of shielding Duško Roganović, a member of this criminal group, by reportedly instructing prosecutors to exclude him from criminal cases.
During his testimony, Janičić clarified that he was unaware of any connections between Lazović and criminal organizations, nor did surveillance measures reveal such links. He recounted his first encounter with Lazović in June 2019, after the murder of Stefan Šarović in Herceg Novi. He noted that the involvement of a helicopter and experts from Danilovgrad was at Lazović’s request, despite the then-prosecutor’s initial reluctance to proceed due to fatigue.
Janičić also discussed Lazović’s son, Petar Lazović, who faces charges related to alleged membership in the criminal group led by fugitive Radoje Zvicer. He asserted that Petar had provided substantial operational information to both the Kavački and Škaljarski clans while serving as a police officer.
Furthermore, Janičić denied having prior knowledge of any criminal actions planned by Serbian nationals Veljko Belivuk and Marko Miljković before their arrival in Montenegro in January 2021. “We received information that there were plans for their liquidation upon arrival in Montenegro. Certain individuals were arrested in connection with this,” he noted. He recalled that weapons, lime, and encrypted phones were discovered in relation to this case.
He also addressed the murder of Nikola Stanišić, initially reported as a missing person until evidence from Europol’s Sky application confirmed his murder. “He was listed as missing until we received the Sky material from Europol. Until then, we had no proof of his murder or the identity of his killer,” Janičić explained.
Regarding the identification of suspects in Stanišić’s murder, Janičić rejected claims that Čađenović opposed such identification efforts. “I remember we developed a strategy to detain them, issuing summons for questioning related to local cases. That is how we apprehended them,” he stated.
The accused, including members of the Kavački clan, have been charged in connection with Stanišić’s murder. The trial also included plans for the testimonies of prosecutors Sanja Jovićević and Mira Samardžić, but those sessions were postponed due to the lengthy questioning of Janičić.
Both Lazović and Katnić, along with Čađenović, have denied the Special Prosecutor’s claims that they abused their positions to benefit members of the Kavački clan. Lazović is accused of facilitating the lifting of entry bans for criminals from Belgrade, while Katnić is alleged to have used his position to prevent criminal proceedings against the leaders of the Kavački organization.
Katnić served as the chief special prosecutor from 2015 until his retirement in February 2022. Čađenović was his deputy. Lazović held a senior position in the National Security Agency and was head of the Organized Crime Sector from 2019 until March 2021. The trial is set to continue on December 22, 2023.
