The non-governmental organizations Human Rights Action (HRA) and the Center for Women’s Rights (WRC) warned on Friday, February 14, that the Police Administration has failed for 17 days to respond to the Council for Civil Control of Police Work regarding the issues raised in the complaint they submitted to the Council.

Between Friday and Sunday, the Police Administration issued three separate statements attempting to justify its failure to comply with the Council’s request.

In its first and second statements, the Police Administration claimed that it had sent its response to the Council—first by official mail and then by regular post—while also stating that the responses had been classified.

In its third statement, it emphasized that the responses would not be disclosed without permission from the State Prosecutor’s Office, which allegedly continues an investigation into the mass killing in Cetinje. However, based on the response received from the Supreme State Prosecutor on February 3, we have concluded that no investigation is currently being conducted in relation to the mass killing in Cetinje, as we publicly stated on Friday.

We call on the High State Prosecutor’s Office in Podgorica to inform the public about any investigation allegedly being conducted by State Prosecutor Andrijana Nastić, as claimed by the Police Administration.

We expect the Police Administration to publish the answers to the questions raised, in the interest of protecting the fundamental human rights to life and security. Furthermore, we expect the Council for Civil Control of Police Workto be allowed, in accordance with its mandate and based on our complaint, to review the actions of the Police Administration in Cetinje on January 1, establish the facts, and assess whether police powers were appropriately applied.

If certain parts of the response must be restricted, we expect the State Prosecutor’s Office to confirm such necessity and provide a clear explanation as to why.

We remind the public that, in our complaint to the Council for Civil Control of Police Work, we carefully formulated the following questions, after thoroughly reviewing all the information previously shared with the public by the Ministry of Interior, the Police Administration, and the State Prosecutor’s Office:

• Who informed the police about the murders in Cetinje on January 1, when, and in what manner, and how did police officers respond to these reports?
• How many operational police officers were present in Cetinje at the time of the mass killing on January 1?
• Why did the Police Administration fail to locate and detain the perpetrator for over five and a half hours?
• How did the perpetrator obtain illegal firearms and ammunition, and what investigative actions and preventive measures did the police undertake to ensure public safety?
• Were there any previous reports of domestic violence against the perpetrator, and if so, what actions were taken in response to those reports?
• Has a forensic examination of the perpetrator’s phone been conducted?

Tea Gorjanc Prelević (HRA) and Maja Raičević (WRC)