Mihailo Cadjenovic from Podgorica who has recently been arrested claims he doesn’t know Ananije Nikic. Cadjenovic, DF leader Andrija Mandic’s driver, has been questioned before the Special Prosecutor’s Office, Dnevne Novine newspaper learns. Allegedly he never saw or spoke with Nikic, although the Prosecutor’s Office has evidence suggesting the opposite, DN writes.
In this case of attempted terrorist attack on 16 October in Montenegro, the Special State Prosecutor’s Office extended the investigation on Wednesday to include Cadjenovic and Ananije Nino Nikic. Nikic was frequently engaged by DF as a translator/interpreter for the Russian language. Criminal charges of creating a criminal organisation and terrorism in an attempt were filed against both of them. Nikic has not been arrested because he has not been in Montenegro since 9 November 2016.
A month of detention for the driver
After the questioning on Tuesday, investigation judge of the High Court in Podgorica Miroslav Basovic ordered that Cadjenovic should be remanded in Spuz prison. The judge cited the danger of influencing witnesses as the reason for the detention. Cadjenovic was arrested the day before upon the Chief Special Prosecutor Milivoje Katnic’s order. Then he was questioned in the presence of his attorney Slobodan Smolovic. The questioning lasted for several hours, but details were not known because the investigation was declared secret.
The arrest of Mandic’s driver came after the former Serbian intelligence officer Slavko Nikic referred to him a participant in planning destabilisation of Montenegro 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 hot 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.
