Basic State Prosecutor’s Office in Podgorica ended on Friday its inquiry in the incident which took place in Parliament on 15 February 2016, after lifting parliamentary immunity of Democratic Front (DF) leaders Andrija Mandic and Milan Knezevic, which was requested by the Special State Prosecutor’s Office (SDT), Dnevne Novine newspaper writes.
SDT has eight working days to classify the offence. Having in mind the coming Easter holidays, the decision is expected after 17 April.
Over the past two months, DF MPs Milan Knezevic, Branko Radulovic, Marina Jocic and Milutin Djukanovic have been questioned, upon charges pressed by DPS MPs with reports submitted by DPS MPs who were attacked both verbally and physically, including Marta Scepanovic, by Luigj Skrelja, Miodrag Vukovic and Miodrag Bobo Radunovic.
DF MPs have denied guilt and justified causing the incident with their revolt because of lifting immunity of their colleagues who have been suspected of being involved in terrorism attempt on 16 October 2016, which, according to them, was made by contrary to the appropriate procedures and laws.
For instance, DF MP Marina Jocic pleaded not guilty for slapping Marta Scepanovic. According to the hearing minutes seen by DN, she said she had no intention to hurt Scepanovic, but to make “a political blow”.
Specifically, Jocic Admitted slapping DPS MP with “open palm of her right hand on the left side of Scepanovic’s face” and that it was a “message from the voters”.
“It was not a heavy slap and it did not cause any injury and I did not even have the intention to hurt her. That slap was purely political gesture and a political and symbolic message sent to Marta Scepanovic for her activities, ie statements she said the day before at the Administrative Committee sitting when she insulted DF leadership and voters,” the minutes read.
Jocic slapped Scepanovic an hour and a half after the incident at the Parliament exit.
“Since I never saw her before, I decided to stop her and spoke to her. I said: ‘Are you Marta Scepanovic’ and she confirmed it. I introduced myself and said that I was DF MP. Marta immediately replied with insolent tone ‘get out of here, get yourself out of here’, which she repeated several times,” Jocic said at the hearing.
Then she informed the DPS MP that she had a message from DF voters and that she should “slap her”. The DF MP also stated that her colleagues had not entered the Parliament to physically assault people and cause incidents, but that it had “spontaneously” happened.
