Montenegrin prosecutor charges 18 with sedition
BBC Monitoring Europe - Political - December 7, 2006 Thursday

Text of report by Montenegrin Mina news agency

Podgorica: Special prosecutor for combating organized crime Stojanka Radovic today filed criminal conspiracy charges against 18 people.

These people are suspected of committing the criminal offences of association for the purpose of taking part in anti-constitutional acts and preparing acts aimed against the constitutional set-up and security of Montenegro in an organized fashion.

Charges have been brought against Vaselj Dedvukaj, Doda Ljucaj, Djon Dedvukaj, Anton Sinistaj, Viktor Sinistaj, Zef Berisa, Sokolj Ivanovic, Djordje Ivanovic, Djon Ljucovic, Viktor Dresevic, Pjetar Dedvukaj, Rok Dedvukaj, Kolja Dedvukaj, Djon Dedvukovic, Nikola Ljekocevic, Marko Ivanovic, Vaso Koljcevic and Maljota Bojovic.

Vaselj Dedvukaj, Doda Ljucaj and Djon Ljucovic are on the run.

Five of the accused are US citizens.

The charges have been filed with the Supreme Court in Podgorica.

The bill of indictment says that the accused Vaselj Dedvukaj and Doda Ljucaj, US citizens of [ethnic] Albanian extraction, acting through Djon Dedvukaj, in 2004 and last year [2005] incited Anton Sinistaj to set up an association of Albanians on Montenegrin territory with the aim of committing the criminal offences of terrorism and armed insurrection.

This association was supposed to be funded by members of the Albanian diaspora and associations in the US city of Detroit, while military support in the form of personnel and arms were supposed to be provided from Kosovo, from the ranks of the Kosovo Liberation Army (OVK [UCK in Albanian]).

The association was expected to "carry out terrorist acts with weapons and explosives with the aim of forcibly capturing facilities important for security and basic services, such as watch-towers, police stations and distribution centres".

The association was tasked with abducting police officers and intimidating the non-Albanian population of the region of Malesija [southeastern Montenegro], in order to drive them out of their homes, as well as instigating armed insurrection and provoking war in order to create an Albanian-populated territory with a special status contrary to the constitutional order of Montenegro.

According to the bill of indictment, Anton Sinistaj actively worked on setting up the association by talking his brother Anton Sinistaj and Zef Berisa into assuming the roles of intellectual leaders of the organization, which they accepted.

As part of their preparations to commit criminal offences, Viktor Sinistaj and Zef Berisa tried to recruit members of the Albanian diaspora and Albanians in Montenegro and Kosovo, so this could grow into a movement for the realization of the rights of Albanians in Montenegro.

The association was joined by US citizens Sokolj Ivanovic, Rod Dedvukaj and Kolja Dedvukaj, and Djon Ljucovic, Djordje Ivanovic, Pjetar Dedvukaj, Viktor Dresevic and Djon Dedvukovic from the area of Tuzi.

"Nikola Ljekocevic, Marko Ivanovic, Vaso Koljcevic and Maljota Bojovic joined through the mediation of Sokolj Ivanovic, and were employed to draw up the association's war and political strategy for securing financial support, logistics and caring for their families in wartime conditions".

According to the bill of indictment, they were also tasked with procuring weapons and military uniforms, providing an army for the implementation of the association's plans, in connection with which they travelled on several occasions this and last year to meet Vaselj Dedvukaj, Doda Ljucaj and OVK representatives in Shkoder and Tirana.

The OVK members included Fadilj Ndrecaj, Skender Ndrecaj, Vaselj Maljici, Miras Djeljaj and others "who have been appointed to wage the war in Montenegro".

Some of these persons visited Montenegro in the preparatory stages in order to carry out reconnaissance of the area, while the accused were preparing themselves by procuring, possessing and hiding weapons, placing their facilities at the disposal of the organization, and removing "other obstacles".

"They also illegally procured and imported into Montenegro a large quantity of weapons, ammunition, explosives and other highly destructive armaments, which they hid in caves in the area of Tuzi and Malesija," the bill of indictment says.

The accused planned to commit the criminal offences of terrorism and armed insurrection in the area of Malesija on the day of the parliamentary and local elections in Montenegro on 10 September by helping a large group of OVK members headed by Doda Ljucaj to illegally enter Montenegrin territory.

They were supposed to be met in the border area by the accused from Tuzi, who were expected to accommodate them and help them carry out terrorist acts and armed insurrection with the use of the weapons they had stashed away earlier.

"This was supposed to be followed by the presentation of their political demands - the creation of a territorial region populated by Albanians with a special status in contravention of Montenegro's constitutional set-up," the bill of indictment says.

The criminal offences in the bill of indictment are a result of organized action by more than two persons aimed at carrying out serious crimes geared towards acquiring power and financial gain, for which purpose they worked on long-term tasks and assumed roles which focused on internal control and discipline of the membership.

Source: Mina news agency, Podgorica, in Serbian 1518 gmt 7 Dec 06

Copyright 2006 British Broadcasting Corporation
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