Democratic front (DF) is responsible for the failure of the terrorist act plan on election day, since it was “not able to conduct the coup”, said cooperative witness Aleksandar Sasa Sindjelic during the hearing at the Special State Prosecutor’s Office last week, Dnevne Novine newspaper reports.
Sindjelic grounded these and other accusations against DF on Eduard Edi Shishmakov’s information, he received direct instructions from.
According to Russians, in addition to the political group, protected witness Mirko Velimirovic also bears responsibility for the failure and therefore he could be killed, Sindjelic claimed.
“When the media released that 20 Serbian citizens had been arrested and that they were terrorists, I had several phone conversations with Edi. We also met. He asked me to find out what was going on. He was particularly interested where the weapons were. I said that I did not know and that Velimirovic was only to know that. He insisted on finding either the weapons or Velimirovic. After this, when he was confirmed that everyone was arrested, Edi said that it was Velimirovic’s fault, that he ratted out and that he should be killed,” Sindjelic said last week before a special state prosecutor Sasa Cadjenovic and defendants attorneys.
Sindjelic himself to kill Djukanovic
After the whole plan failed and the criminal group ended up behind bars, Shishmakov, as Sindjelic said, came up with the idea to “finally resolve the matter in Montenegro” and asked Sindjelic to personally kill then PM Milo Djukanovic.
“I said that I cannot go to Montenegro and then he asked me to find someone who is skilful in using sniper rifle and explosive and who is willing to do that, adding that the money is not a problem. As far as Djukanovic is concerned, he said they knew where he moved in Podgorica, as he was under surveillance,” said Sindjelic.
As Sindjelic said, his life was also endangered, which is why he decided to admit everything to the authorities. Currently he is being protected at a secret location, where he was brought to the hearing from.
The plan included Zlatica camp
The original plan was that the group the arrested Serbian citizen, under the command of Bratislav Dikic, to breach “bare handed” into the Parliament building on election day. In the same time, an armed group organised by Shishmakov was supposed to enter the Parliament.
”I learned from Edi that armed people would be in the Parliament and I remember that he mentioned a basement and rooms in the Parliament where Milo’s criminals were located. I also saw that he had maps of the city. He told me he had the photos of the police stations. During our talks in Moscow, Edi did not mention the number of the police officers, but later when we were in Serbia, he mentioned some details. Among other things, he mentioned policemen around the Parliament and that the west entrance would be weaker secured. He also mentioned a certain special unit at the Zlatica camp. He said that there was a group tasked with stopping the unit if it tried to intervene,” Sindjelic said.
He spent his €35,000
Sindjelic also said that Shishmakov gave him €200,000 to execute the plan and that those were new banknotes.
“I do not know where the money came from. I spent the money I received from Edi on things necessary for the plan execution. But I have to say that during that time I also spent my money and it was about €35,000,” he said.
The cooperative witness clearly said that DF and the opposition were supposed to organise the protest on election night.
“Edi told me that. He literally told me that DF representatives had arrived to Russia several times and required that something like that should be carried out,” he said, noting that “these persons had control over the entire opposition in Montenegro”. However, he pointed out that the “other opposition was not involved in all these plans, nor did they were aware what was going on”.
He said that he met Shishmakov in 2014. The prosecutor’s order to conduct an investigation refers to a total of 25 people on suspicion that they committed the criminal offense of creating a criminal organisation and terrorism in the attempt.
Montenegrin authorities issued a warrant against Ananije Nino Nikic, DF’s translator/interpreter, on suspicion that he was part of the logistics network, which was supposed to permanently destabilise Montenegro after the closing of polling stations. Predrag Bogicevic and Nemanja Ristic were in charge of the recruitment of members of criminal organizations. They were supposed to organise the arrival of the people to DF rally and “to cause a conflict with police officers along with politicians gathered at the rally and forcibly enter the Parliament. They were supposed to stay there at least 48 hours and proclaim election victory of DF and other opposition parties”. Special Prosecutor’s Office has asked the colleagues from Serbia to extradite Ristic and Bogicevic. They were suspected of being tasked with bringing the groups that would be willing to cause chaos in front of the Parliament. The Montenegrin authorities’ extradition request has been rejected. Mirko Velimirovic, a key man for exposing the criminal group, got a suspended sentence.
Nikola Djuric, Sinisa Cetkovic, Aleksandar Curovic, Dejan Stanojevic and Ivica Matic signed plea bargains with the prosecutor’s office. They agreed to spend five months in prison. Serbian citizens Aleksandar Aleksic, Milos Acimovic and Perica Andric admitted in the courtroom of the High Court on 17 February that they belonged to the criminal organization. According to their statements, the plan was to breach into the Parliament building and wait for further instructions if DF lost the elections. They were sentenced to five months in prison for creating a criminal organisation. Former commander of the Serbian Gendarmerie Bratislav Dikic, Branko Milic, Dragan Maksic, Srboljub Djordjevic and Milan Dusic have been remanded in custody, as well as DF leader Andrija Mandic’s driver Mihailo Cadjenovic.
