The High Court in Podgorica acquitted the defendants in the case of preparing a coup during the parliamentary elections in October 2016. This was reported by the Vijesti publication.
The coup attempt became known after the elections, in November 2016, when the Montenegrin prosecutor’s office announced that a group of “nationalists from Russia” was preparing an attempt on the life of Montenegrin Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic.< /p>
What do we know about the failed coup in Montenegro
The investigation named the Russians Eduard Shishmakov and Vladimir Popov as the organizers, who, according to their version, wanted to prevent the country from joining into NATO and tried to bring the pro-Russian opposition to power.
They were accused of creating a criminal organization for the purpose of committing crimes (Part 1 of Article 401a of the Criminal Code of Montenegro) and terrorism (Article 20, Part 1 of Article 447 of the Criminal Code of Montenegro). Shishmakov was also charged with incitement to commit acts against the constitutional order and security of Montenegro (Part 2 of Article 24 and Part 1 of Article 373). According to investigators, they, through the Serbian nationalist Aleksandar Sindjelic — he eventually became the main witness for the prosecution — gave money and instructions to their accomplices.
The alleged conspirators included the leaders of the Democratic Front opposition coalition, Andrij Mandić and Milan Knežević, as well as the party's translator, Ananie Nikiću, who was granted asylum by Russia.
Coup from Russian. How a translator from Montenegro “detained in Russia” turned out to be a key defendant in the case of a putsch attempt
Bellingcat and Insider referred to Vladimir Popov as GRU officer Vladimir Moiseev. At the beginning, the authorities of Montenegro called Shishmakov Shirokov, since he traveled to Europe using a fake passport; he was also associated with the GRU.
Shishmakov and Popov were sentenced in absentia to 15 and 12 years in prison in 2019; other defendants also received real sentences.
In 2021, the Court of Appeal of Montenegro overturned the verdict.
Moscow-Belgrade-Podgorica. Indictment of the Montenegrin prosecutor's office in the case of the attempted coup
Now all the accused have been acquitted by Judge Zoran Radovic. In the explanatory note, as Vijesti writes, he noted that weapons for the rebellion were not imported into the country — «only two Lenovo mobile phones were imported into Montenegro.»
Also, according to him, it was not proven that Sindjelic entered Moscow and met with Eduard Shishmakov — according to the response from Russia, he did not go through passport control and did not cross the border, and Mandic's visit to Moscow took place at the invitation of the United Russia party, and «there is nothing conspiratorial about this.»
Special prosecutors Zoran Vucinic and Sinisa Milic, as the publication writes, again asked to sentence Shishmakov to 15 years in prison, and Popov to 12. For all the other defendants, they asked for 1.5 to 8 years of real imprisonment. Only one defendant was offered a suspended sentence.