Novović is investigating Šaranović’s actions in the “Rakočević case”
Now the Chief Special Prosecutor is on the move. Will he sanction the politically motivated, illegal actions of the ministry and police leadership; or, as he did many times before, will Novović and his team have a selective oversight of the painful, unlawful practices of state officials?
Chief Special Prosecutor, Vladimir Novović, is investigating the actions of the Minister of Internal Affairs, Danilo Šaranović.
This follows from the response of the Special State Prosecutor’s Office to an inquiry from Siniša Adamović, editor at Television E, asking whether - in the case of the sudden termination of the internship of Aleksa Rakočević, a graduate of the Police Academy, in Kolašin - opened a case regarding decisions made by Minister of Internal Affairs, Danilo Šaranović.
UNDER THE SURVEILLANCE OF THE SPECIAL PROSECUTOR’S OFFICE
In the process of reviewing the request, the first-instance body, after confirming it possesses the requested information, under Article 16, Paragraph 1 of the Law on Free Access to Information, conducted a harm test and determined that access to this information should be restricted because satisfying the request and disclosing the requested information could lead to delaying necessary actions in the pre-criminal and criminal proceedings, as well as the collection of evidence during the investigation and inquiry - It is emphasized in the response of prosecutor Novović to the request of ETV.
Translated from legal-bureaucratic jargon to everyday language: Special Prosecutor Novović cannot disclose his actions to the media because - revealing details - would jeopardize the inquiry or investigation into the legality of the decisions made by the Minister of Internal Affairs.
That there is something to investigate – Television E and Portal ETV thoroughly reported on this back on May 27. At that time, they published the testimony of twenty-five-year-old Aleksa Rakočević from Kolašin - who after two months of internship - Minister Šaranović terminated his internship and removed him from the police. Previously, Rakočević, with excellent grades, graduated from the Police Academy in Danilovgrad, received positive security clearances, and started his internship in the Security Department of Kolašin.
WORK WITHOUT A CONTRACT
To be more interesting: Aleksa Rakočević began his internship precisely on the recommendation of the Minister of Internal Affairs, Danilo Šaranović, who by email recommended the then twenty-four-year-old graduate from the academy in Danilovgrad.
In January 2024, an email arrived from the Minister of Internal Affairs’ cabinet to the Security Department of Kolašin, inviting me to an interview regarding the termination of my internship. I
appeared, but interestingly, without any contract, they didn’t give me any contract, I didn’t sign anything - Rakočević told ETV.
RECORDS OF ISSUED UNIFORM ITEMS
In a document shown during the interview at Television E, Rakočević revealed that police officer Dijana Mašković issued him the following items: summer jacket, summer pants, winter pants, two winter shirts, one summer shirt, and one belt.
That’s how Aleksa Rakočević started his internship in the police on January 30, 2024.
A very strange internship: for a full two months, Rakočević did not have a contract that work in the Montenegrin police?!
This was also confirmed by Rakočević in the interview with our media outlet.
Who will be responsible that I was pretending to be a policeman on the street for two months? Signing official documents, conducting inspections, searches, performing all official duties that happened and that were necessary for someone to do as an intern at that time, who learns the job, who looks at how and what needs to be done, and helps, assisting active police officers. Who will be responsible for that? - asks Rakočević.
THE TWO-MONTH INTERN
After two months - a turnaround occurred. The deputy commander of the Kolašin police, Slađan Vukićević, suddenly remembered that intern Aleksa Rakočević had a stain on his record. He reported this to Minister Šaranović, and Rakočević was swiftly removed from service: on March 23 of last year, Aleksa Rakočević returned the uniform he had been issued in mid-January.
Whether Minister Šaranović knew what he was signing off on when he expelled Rakočević from service is unknown. Had the Democrat official known anything about the law, he would have understood that the reported stain in Rakočević’s record was non-existent and that his minor offense as a juvenile had long been erased from records.
This, however, did not stop Minister Danilo Šaranović and the head of the Police Administration, Lazar Šćepanović, in the manner of Stalinist purges for hiring Rakočević - from filing criminal charges against Vanja Miletić, the former commander of the Kolašin police, and Milija Vukanić, the former head of the Security Department of Kolašin.
WAITING FOR THE EPILOGUE
The police leadership accuses them of abuse of official position - even though it was proven - that Aleksa Rakočević’s file was completely clean.
Now, Vladimir Novović is on the move, and it will soon be seen whether the politically motivated, illegal actions of the ministry and police leadership will be sanctioned. Or whether, as many times before, the Chief Special Prosecutor will have a selective oversight of the painful, unlawful practices of state officials?