Whatever Andrija Mandić and the ruling group order, the Special State Prosecutor’s Office of Vladimir Novović executes without question

Speaker of the Parliament of Montenegro and leader of the parliamentary majority  Andrija Mandić, on October 25 last year, clearly expressed the ruling coalition’s dissatisfaction with the work of the prosecution. He directly addressed political threats to Supreme State Prosecutor Milorad Marković.

WARNINGS FROM THE AUTHORITIES TO THE PROSECUTION

- You were politically appointed. Do not think you were chosen because you were some great professional. No, you were selected by agreement of the parliamentary majority to be the Supreme State Prosecutor. Stand up and say: „I have not met expectations, I am stepping down from this position“ - Mandić shouted from his position at the head of parliament.

It was clear that the leader of New Serbian Democracy, former head of the Democratic Front, was not speaking only on his own behalf but on behalf of all parties of the parliamentary majority. It was also evident, although not stated publicly, that the criticism and threats of political removal were not directed only at Supreme State Prosecutor Milorad Marković, but also at Chief Special Prosecutor Vladimir Novović.

That same day, Milan Knežević also spoke clearly, strongly criticizing the Special State Prosecutor’s Office, which in mid-June last year filed an appeal against the acquittal issued by the High Court in the 2016 attempted terrorism case.

ACTING ON POLITICAL ORDERS

That state institutions dealing with this case, commonly referred to as the „attempted coup“, took the words of government leaders seriously became evident at the end of February this year, when the Court of Appeal dismissed the SSPO’s appeal. This made the acquittal final for Andrija Mandić, Milan Knežević, and all others who had previously been sentenced to multi-year prison terms.

Two GRU agents, Shishmakov and Popov, were also acquitted, along with eight Serbian citizens who had pleaded guilty back in 2017!

Still, few expected the Special State Prosecutor’s Office to make a new move: filing an indictment proposal against retired Chief Special Prosecutor Milivoje Katnić and suspended Special Prosecutor Saša Čađenović.

And for unlawful influence in the 2016 attempted terrorism proceedings?!

WITHOUT EXPLANATION FROM THE SSPO

- The subject of the indictment proposal and proceedings is the joint decision of the defendants to reach an agreement with legal representative Joseph Assad, a United States citizen, against whom the SSPO and S. Č. initiated criminal proceedings for the offenses of forming a criminal organization and attempted terrorism through aiding, to have Assad come to Montenegro and testify in the manner demanded by the accused, namely the leadership of the Special State Prosecutor’s Office - the statement says, among other things.

Lawyer Ljubomir Raković, Katnić’s legal representative, whom we asked for comment, had not had the opportunity to review the indictment proposal, as the Special State Prosecutor’s Office chose to inform the media and the public first.

The targeted special prosecutor Saša Čađenović also told us that he does not have the indictment proposal and cannot comment until he becomes familiar with the details.

A NEW SAGA ABOUT JOSEPH ASSAD

The move by the Special Prosecutor’s Office is nevertheless surprising. When Vladimir Novović took over the 2016 attempted terrorism case, he also took over the indictment written by Katnić and Čađenović. Moreover, based on that same indictment, Novović drafted the appeal to the Court of Appeal against the acquittal by the High Court, using the same details from the original indictment.

In that indictment, Joseph Assad, a former CIA agent, is not mentioned at all, and in the end, no charges were ever brought against him. So why did Vladimir Novović and his special team pull the Joseph Assad story out of a drawer?

It is evident that parliamentary threats by Andrija Mandić, Milan Knežević, and others from the parliamentary majority have borne fruit. The Special Prosecutor’s Office appears to have acted according to a pattern dictated as early as 2023 by Milan Knežević in a letter to Supreme State Prosecutor Milorad Marković.

KNEŽEVIĆ’S LETTER TO MARKOVIĆ

- I expect you, within your competences, to undertake actions that will contribute to clarifying all facts in the case of the conduct of prosecutors Saša Čađenović and Milivoje Katnić during the questioning of Tobey Cadman and Joseph Assad in the 2016 attempted terrorism case on the day of the parliamentary elections - Knežević warned.

The leader of the Democratic People’s Party, a former high-ranking official of the Democratic Front, told Marković and Novović that the „Assad case“ should be one of the SSPO’s priorities.

- I am concerned for myself and the safety of my family, considering the published „Sky“ communications of suspected high-ranking police officials from the „Kavač“ clan, who used all mechanisms to secure a conviction at the Court of Appeal - Knežević concluded.

After the Court of Appeal ultimately acquitted all previously convicted actors by majority vote, making the acquittal final, the reaction of the Special State Prosecutor’s Office - filing an indictment proposal against Katnić and Čađenović - appears as an act of political retaliation ordered by leaders of the former Democratic Front.

It is difficult to believe that the SSPO intended to provide any kind of satisfaction to Joseph Assad with this move.

THE DICTATE OF POLITICS

The former CIA agent was allegedly hired for security services by Aron Shaviv, an Israeli political consultant and campaign advisor to the Democratic Front.

Assad was arrested in Dubai in 2019 on a warrant issued by Montenegro’s Special Prosecutor’s Office, which accused him of involvement in the October 2016 events in Montenegro. However, as a U.S. citizen, he was quickly released, since the United States does not extradite its citizens. Later, the SSPO - after negotiations with Assad’s lawyer Brian Scott - dropped the prosecution.

It will therefore be interesting to see what specific criminal offense Katnić and Čađenović are being charged with, given that there are no proceedings against Assad. It will also be interesting to follow the next steps of the SSPO, as it appears they are acting on instructions dating back to October 2025.

- I expected you, and all of Montenegro wanted it, that you would do something regarding Milo Đukanović, Aco Đukanović, Brano Gvozdenović, Peđa Bošković. You don’t dare even look there…

That is how Mandić spoke in parliament last October. Judging by the latest actions of the prosecution, his words have become an order.