PODGORICA – Former President of the Supreme Court Vesna Medenica was today sentenced to one year and nine months in prison. Milica Vlahović Milosavljević, a judge of the Commercial Court, received a six-month prison sentence.
According to Judge Branislav Leković, who handed down the verdict, the court established beyond doubt that Medenica and Vlahović Milosavljević committed the criminal offenses they were charged with. Judge Leković stated that Medenica had incited Vlahović Milosavljević to commit the crime.
Medenica was not present in the courtroom when the verdict was delivered, while Vlahović Milosavljević attended the hearing.
The indictment alleged that Vlahović Milosavljević committed the offense of abuse of office, while Medenica was charged with abuse of office through incitement.
The indictment also states that Medenica, as President of the Supreme Court, influenced the Commercial Court judge to issue a ruling in a case in favor of her godfather, Rado Arsić, to the detriment of “Corporation Ten,” a Moscow-based company.
In his closing argument on November 25, prosecutor Vukas Radonjić proposed a three-year prison sentence for Medenica, arguing that she had encouraged Vlahović Milosavljević to impose an interim measure that prevented the collection of claims by the Russian company “Corporation Ten” from Medenica’s godfather, Rado Arsić.
For the suspended judge Vlahović Milosavljević, the Special State Prosecutor’s Office (SDT) requested a two-year prison sentence.
Radonjić explained that only prison sentences could restore public trust in the judicial system, which, he said, Medenica and Vlahović Milosavljević undermined through unlawful conduct.
Special prosecutor Vukas Radonjić told the media he was satisfied with the guilty verdict but not with the length of the sentence handed to Medenica, as he had sought a three-year prison term.
Criminal proceedings are being conducted against former Supreme Court President Vesna Medenica, who held that position for thirteen years (from December 19, 2007, to December 31, 2020). The most complex case against the former head of the Supreme Court is the one in which she is suspected of being part of a criminal organization allegedly run by her son, Miloš. According to the indictment issued by the High Court in Podgorica, she is accused of abusing her official position between 2019 and 2021 by unlawfully influencing court decisions in favor of that criminal organization.
