A lawyer for former CIA officer Joseph Assad has told BIRN that Montenegrin prosecutors exerted improper pressure on his client, including an explicit threat of prosecution, to force him to testify against defendants in the 2016 “coup plot” case.
The case concerned then opposition figures and others accused of taking part in an alleged Russian-backed plot to overthrow Montenegro’s pro-Western government during the elections in 2016. The case has since been dismissed by the courts and the prosecutors concerned are no longer in their posts.
Assad’s lawyer, Toby Cadman, of the London-based Guernica 37 Chambers law firm, told BIRN he had submitted a formal statement to Montenegrin authorities detailing the conduct.
“Assad was subjected to a course of conduct that constituted significant undue pressure to give evidence against the defendants in the so-called coup trial,” Cadman said. He added that Assad was “unduly influenced to provide a pre-prepared statement, with the explicit threat of prosecution should he refuse to comply”.
Cadman said the concerns had been formally communicated to the Montenegrin authorities, with an evidential record provided, but declined to elaborate on this, citing ongoing court proceedings.
Montenegro’s Special State Prosecutor’s Office said on Tuesday that it had indicted former Chief Special Prosecutor Milivoje Katnic and prosecutor Sasa Cadjenovic for abuse of office and unlawful influence.
According to the indictment, Katnic and Cadjenovic allegedly agreed that Assad would testify in a manner they requested before the Higher Court in Podgorica, confirming the prosecution’s claims in exchange for assurances he would not be arrested or prosecuted.
The Special State Prosecutor’s Office did not respond to BIRN’s request for a comment on the statement by Assad’s lawyer by time of publication.
Katnic’s lawyer, Ljubomir Rakovic, told the ETV website that he had “not had the opportunity to review the indictment proposal”.
The “coup plot” in 2016 was allegedly aimed at preventing the country from joining NATO. The defendants – including then opposition leaders Andrija Mandic and Milan Knezevic – were initially convicted. However, after a retrial following a change of government, all of them were acquitted. The Appeals Court in Podgorica last month upheld the acquittals.
Assad was initially under suspicion of involvement in the case, but was never charged, and rejected the allegations as false.
Cadman said Assad had been “fully exonerated by the courts” but the allegations had caused “substantial harm” to his reputation, and that the damage should be properly addressed by the authorities. He added that Assad “has acted in accordance with the law” and remains ready to cooperate with the authorities.