Milivoje Katnić, the former Chief Special Prosecutor, asserts that members of the Special State Prosecutor’s Office and police personnel working with Europol fabricated evidence and omitted numerous messages from Sky Communications. This was allegedly done to misrepresent him to the public as part of a criminal group allegedly formed by Zoran Lazović.

The trial involving Zoran Lazović, former Assistant Director of the Police Administration, Katnić, and former special prosecutor Saša Čađenović, accused of forming a criminal organization, misusing official positions, and laundering money, continued today at the Higher Court in Podgorica.

During the proceedings, Katnić requested that the court acquire the original messages via Europol to submit as evidence. He analyzed the Sky Communication messages cited in the indictment, which he claims were altered by the prosecution.

“The communications dated December 12 and 29, 2020, between Ljubo Milović and Radoje Zvicer demonstrate that Petar Lazović, Zoran Lazović’s son, never met with Zvicer nor joined the alleged criminal organization, contrary to the SDT’s assertions in the indictment. Furthermore, Petar did not relay messages between Zvicer and Zoran Lazović, nor did he engage in criminal activities with this group as suggested by the prosecutor. To mislead the public into thinking Petar had joined Zvicer’s organization, the SDT published these deceptive communications in ‘Vijesti’ on January 17, which falsely indicate his involvement with the OKG. This is a serious abuse that could mislead public opinion. Evidence in the case files affirms that Petar Lazović could not have met Radoje Zvicer, as he was recovering from injuries in Kiev until November or December 2025. I urge the court to retrieve this evidence through the Police Directorate, especially regarding Zvicer’s time in Montenegro. Petar’s motive is to gather intelligence about the Kavač clan, including their locations, phone numbers, and member counts, which he relayed to his superiors as needed,” stated Katnić.

Katnić discovered his impending arrest through an article in “Vijesti” that dated January 17, 2024, with the headline “Tigar also paid police chiefs.”

“Due to these factors, I request an examination of the ‘Vijesti’ article – ‘Tigar also paid police chiefs’ as evidence in the main trial,” he remarked.

Katnić countered the prosecutor’s allegations of protecting Kavač clan members and becoming part of the OKG led by Zoran Lazović. He further dissected a message from December 3, 2020, between Petar Lazović and Radoje Zvicer, which he described as forged by the prosecution.

“The prosecutor claims I became affiliated with a criminal group based on this message: ‘And for Duško Roganović, dad asked Kate to leave him out; every pain killed him.’ Assuming this is true, it only suggests Zoran Lazović requested Kate to exclude Duško since he is in a wheelchair, having lost both legs to a planted explosive device, with his family members killed. This alone cannot substantiate claims of a criminal organization connected to Zvicer, nor imply receipt of money; rather, it indicates the tragedies faced by Duško Roganović. This is merely an abuse of official authority for me, and nothing more,” emphasized Katnić.

He asserted the SDT concealed communications from various participants.

With respect to the exchanges between Petar Lazović and Zvicer, Katnić maintained that the prosecutor’s interpretation did not qualify as authentic communication.

“Every message sent by Zvicer to Petar was omitted, despite the conversation lasting 40 minutes. The prosecutor not only deleted all of Zvicer’s messages but also excluded three from Petar’s total of ten, leaving only seven. Out of one million and 200,000 messages and 300,000 attachments, the prosecution obscured and falsified data. I request the court acquire the original communications critical to my defense from Europol. It’s clear that this is not solely the work of the SDT but involves representatives from the Montenegrin Ministry of the Interior at Europol, who likely removed messages before forwarding them to Montenegro. Therefore, I ask the court for the originals of all concealed communications,” said Katnić.

The defendant believes the messages illustrate that Petar Lazović was “pressured” by Zvicer, leading him to mislead and deceive.

“In the correspondence, Zvicer inquired why Petar hadn’t informed him about the arrests of Aleksić and Žmukić sooner, to which Petar fabricated that Zoran L. had asked Katnić to spare Duško Roganović. Petar then had to distance himself from those arrests, misleading Zvicer into believing they had assisted Duško, stemming from hidden communications between Ljubo Milović and Zvicer. ‘Here is the junior announcing that he is coming through Kotor,’ writes Zvicer, to which Milović responds: ‘He is driving Dula, I think. They have nothing Dula,’ Zvicer commented. Both are aware Petar Lazović was dishonest. There’s insufficient evidence to suggest Milivoje Katnić joined a criminal group or obstructed the prosecution of the Kavač clan,” Katnić claimed.

During his defense, Katnić reiterated that the prosecutor manipulated the Sky communication, altering and deleting certain messages.

Katnić argued that high-ranking Kavač clan members were discussing how he, Saša Čađenović, and the former head of the SPO Dragan Radonjić launched investigations against this organization, stating they were “full throttle,” which does not benefit the criminal group. He cited messages he claimed were authentic, presenting communications from Kavač clan members planning to murder him and physically assault Čađenović.

The pre-trial panel of the Higher Court in Podgorica confirmed the indictment from the SDT, charging Lazović with creating a criminal organization under Article 401a, paragraph 1, in conjunction with paragraph 6 of the Criminal Code of Montenegro, and abuse of official position under Article 416, paragraph 1, among other charges. Katnić faces charges of criminal organization formation under Article 401a, paragraph 2, in conjunction with paragraphs 1 and 6, along with multiple charges of abuse of official position and illegal possession of weapons and explosives. The panel found reasonable grounds to believe that both Lazović and Katnić committed the offenses as charged.

Lazović allegedly organized a criminal group in 2020, including members such as Katnić, special prosecutor Saša Čađenović, and others, collaborating with Radoje Zvicer, the disgraced leader of the Kavač clan.

Katnić is accused of misusing his official position alongside prosecutor Čađenović in January 2022, facilitating benefits for Lazović, police officers Ljubo Milović, Radoje Zvicer, Duško Roganović, and seven other members of the criminal organization.

Dritan as a Witness

In discussing the evidence, Katnić referenced a social media photo showing him with Saša Čađenović. An anonymous account associated this image with a comment insinuating that he met with Dritan the traitor, although he did not tweet afterward.

It was also alleged that Katnić silenced Abazović “because he knew something about him.”

Katnić requested Dritan Abazović to testify on whether he had ever threatened him.

“We had numerous meetings, including at my home, where I was questioned about possible blackmail and threats against him,” remarked Katnić.

Katnić claimed that the Kavač clan received no protection from the SDT.

In his defense, Katnić cited messages he alleged were concealed by the SDT. He presented messages from the Kavač clan members, pointing to evidence planting and unjust arrests as strategies ensuring “none would survive.”

“Katnić wanted to uproot us,” he recited from a message presented to the court.

One message supposedly sent by Radoje Zvicer stated:

“They are framing our journalist (referring to the attack on Olivera Lakić). They released Klemp (Jovan Vukotić) for shooting my wife. I don’t know why they’re claiming the state is protecting us.” Katnić argues these messages confirm that the Kavač clan lacked SDT protection.

Discussing an attack against special prosecutor Saša Čađenović, he noted a message where Zvicer allegedly wrote: “Just to the head, to damage his head, to leave him disabled. I’ll offer any amount desired.”

“This message was also hidden by the SDT,” claimed Katnić.

He indicated that Duško Roganović had asked Radovan Mujović to attack Saša Čađenović, corroborated by messages similarly suppressed by the SDT.

“Last night, we attacked the junior for Katnić being on the phone and assisting Jovica. He had no defense,” read the message attributed to Ljubo Milović, supporting claims that Petar Lazović was not involved with the Kavač group.

“I’m thinking of throwing acid on someone’s child. I have nothing else to occupy my time,” was a message from an unidentified sender, which Katnić recited today.

News