Representatives of Democratic Front (DF) responded to the decision on extending custody for Mihailo Cadjenovic, a driver of the New Serb Democracy (NOVA) leader Andrija Mandic, to additional two months. Mandic said that Cadjenovic’s custody extension was a new attack against DF. Cadjenovic was arrested on suspicion that he participated in creating criminal organisation that planned terrorist attacks on the election day 2016.
“This process is managed by a man who holds no formal office and only sends messages against DF. He sent a message from Niksic on Tuesday night and the next day Cadjenovic’s custody was extended. The decision on custody extension has been issued by the High Court Council chaired by Boris Savic – former president of a tiny municipal court in Kotor who was brought to be the head of the 30 judges and now we see why,” Mandic said at press conference held on Wednesday.
He added he did not know why Milivoje Katnic blindly followed Milo Djukanovic’s orders.
“We have no doubt that this is done upon Milo Djukanovic’s orders. He should be the first to stand trial, as well as Ivan Brajovic due the Limenka (Tin Building) affair. Instead of that, they fabricate coups and criminalise DF,” Mandic said, calling for urgent release of Cadjenovic.
Member of DF Presidency Milan Knezevic said that Milo Djukanovic was personally behind the attacks against DF.
“None of DF members or leaders had no contact with people who have been accused of plotting the coup. This is Djukanovic’s personal crackdown on DF,” said Knezevic.
DF official Predrag Bulatovic announced that the political group would organise protests after the local elections in Niksic on 12 March.
“We’ll organise protests – those who do not support us support Milo Djukanovic,” said Bulatovic.
Special State Prosecutor’s Office has expanded an investigation into attempted terrorist attacks on the election day in Montenegro to include Cadjenovic and Ananije Nino Nikic, who was often hired by DF as an interpreter for the Russian language.
The arrest followed soon. Cadjenovic was arrested in February. Nikic is still at large, as he has been outside the country and unavailable to the prosecuting authorities since 9 November last year.
The arrest of Mandic’s driver came after the after the former Serbian intelligence officer Slavko Nikic brought the DF’s leader in connection to the plan of Montenegro’s destabilisation on the election day.
Nikic is being questioned by the Special Prosecutor’s Office in Belgrade. The hearing was attended by Montenegrin special prosecutor Sasa Cadjenovic. Latter in a TV show, he said that he was offered to participate in the preparation of terrorist attacks in Montenegro, but that he refused. On that occasion, according to the media, he disclosed the names of people who contacted him, as well as time and place where they met. He also said that the people who presented the plan came to the meeting by a car registered as Andrija Mandic’s.
On 21 January, in an interview with Happy TV, Slavko Nikic said that on late spring 2016, the man who introduced himself as Nino Nikic from Podgorica called him and offered him to connect him with “great friends from Russia” who had a task for him. They agreed to meet in a shopping mall in Belgrade and Slavko Nikic made sure that one of “his people” took a photo of the car they came by.
Mandic’s driver was with Nikic?
According to him, Ananije Nino Nikic came with a man who was presented as a Russian FSB member who, as Slavko Nikic put it, “looked like anyone but a Russian”.
“Nino asked me if I could do something in Montenegro – something that would not be only heard in public, but something that would be somewhat upsetting,” the former intelligence agent said.
He replied that it was possible, but that he did not want to do that. After the meeting, Nikic checked who was the owner of the renault fluence car, Nino Nikic and “friend from Russia” came by. It is suspected that this “friend from Russia” was Cadjenovic himself.
“After the first check, I got information that the renault car was owned by a Podgorica-based construction company. When I received the second check, I was stunned. I still think that someone took the car in a fraudulent way, without owner’s knowledge. Given the fact that we have the registration plate number, I’m not accusing him of anything, I am trying to defend him. I think somebody wanted to compromise him in this way. I obtained information that it was Andrija Mandic’s car,” Slavko Nikic said.
After a hearing, investigation judge of the High Court in Podgorica Miroslav Basovic, ordered that Cadjenovic should be remanded in prison. As the reason for the detention, the judge cited the danger of influencing witnesses.
