Defense: Prosecution witnesses have destroyed the indictment against Katnić, Lazović, and Čađenović

Dozens of witnesses have testified in the trial of former senior police official Zoran Lazović, retired Chief Special Prosecutor Milivoje Katnić and suspended prosecutor Saša Čađenović, and none of them confirmed the allegations in the indictment that the group was allegedly formed to assist Radoje Zvicer, one of the leaders of the Kavač clan. As police officers stated in their testimonies, Lazović, Katnić, and Čađenović never asked them to do anything against the law. The Prosecution’s witnesses confirmed the defense arguments of our client, as well as those of defendants Katnić and Lazović. Not a single witness confirmed the Prosecution’s claim that Lazović had any connection to the allegations made by the Special State Prosecutor’s Office - Lazović’s defense attorneys, Zoran Piperović and Stefan Jovanović, told the High Court.

The trial of Lazović, Katnić, and Čađenović, whom the SSPO accuses of subordinating their official positions to the Kavač criminal clan, allegations they categorically denied, continued today before the High Court with comments from the parties on the testimonies of police officer witnesses Milorad Žižić, Dragoljub Peković, Boris Anđušić and Zoran Backović.

- Zoran Lazović did not cooperate with Radoje Zvicer’s group in any way - attorney Jovanović said.

He joined the remarks previously made by his colleague, attorney Zoran Piperović.

Piperović referred to the presentation by prosecutor Miloš Šoškić, which, according to him, „focused exclusively on Čađenović“.

- I expected the prosecutor to connect the alleged head of the organized group, Zoran Lazović, with Čađenović through the cases the prosecutor handled involving the murders of Damir Hodžić and Adis Spahić, as well as the planned liquidation of Milić Šaković. I have said before that I could finish this case in four hearings - Piperović said.

According to him, there is not a single indication that Lazović influenced Čađenović.

- The police officers who testified have effectively dismantled the first count of the indictment - that there was no organized criminal group. The very narrative from the indictment, that Radoje Zvicer was orchestrating all these proceedings, was disproved by the witnesses who testified - Piperović stated.

He added that the police testimony showed they acted equally against both the Kavač and Škaljari criminal clans.

As he explained, the witnesses detailed all the actions they undertook in order to prosecute members of the Kavač criminal organization.

- The testimony of Dragoljub Peković is the most damaging to the Prosecution because prosecutor Šoškić devoted the greatest attention to him. That witness stated the key point that the prosecutor omits in his submissions, that he was never asked in the Prosecutor’s Office whether there was evidence against Duško Roganović. The witness then said in court: „Had he asked me that in the Prosecutor’s Office, I would have said no“, and he added that all inspectors from the Herceg Novi Security Center would have given the same answer - Piperović emphasized.

According to him, the entire construction of the case is based on the claim that the defendants allegedly knew evidence existed and thereby abused their positions, while Lazović allegedly „prevented a search and failed to file criminal charges“.

- The alleged act dates back to 2020. It is now 2026. Is there an indictment against Duško Roganović for the offense that the Prosecution claims the defendants helped him avoid - Piperović asked.

Defendant Katnić was also adamant that the testimony of former head of the Organized Crime Department Milorad Žižić destroyed the Prosecution’s thesis that Zvicer’s criminal group was being protected.

- The witnesses confirmed that I protected no one - Katnić said.

Čađenović shared the same view, describing Žižić’s testimony as truthful and reminding the court that the witness had answered dozens of questions.

- Witness Žižić stated there was no selectivity. The key fact is that more individuals connected to the Kavač clan were prosecuted than those linked to the Škaljari clan. That is not my opinion, but an exact figure - Čađenović stated.

According to Čađenović, it is clear from the testimony that he never protected anyone, especially not members of the Kavač clan.

- Otherwise, there would not have been more of them prosecuted - Čađenović said.

He also objected to the testimony of Sabaheta Hodžić, stating that she and her husband had been questioned by the Prosecutor’s Office as authorized representatives of the family, and that evidence of this exists in the case files.

Their son Damir Hodžić and son-in-law Adis Spahić were killed in August 2020, and prosecutor Čađenović led that investigation and prosecuted the top leadership of the Kavač clan.

In his remarks, prosecutor Šoškić focused on the testimony of Dragoljub Peković, claiming that he had changed the statement he gave to the Prosecutor’s Office in order to ease the position of the defendants.

The trial will continue on May 28.