The Court of Appeal of Montenegro announced today that on June 4, it upheld the December 20, 2024 verdict from the Higher Court in Podgorica. The accused, S.LJ., was sentenced to 15 years in prison for the aggravated crime of sexual intercourse through abuse of position and the crime of rape.

The statement continued, mentioning that both the Higher State Prosecutor’s Office (VDT) in Podgorica and the defendant’s defense attorney submitted appeals against this verdict.

“The Court of Appeal of Montenegro has determined that the appeals from the Supreme State Prosecutor’s Office and the defendant’s defense attorney are without merit in contesting the original verdict on grounds of significant procedural violations and breaches of the Criminal Code. The defense’s appeal also cited an incorrectly and incompletely assessed factual situation. This court believes that the contested verdict does not reflect significant procedural violations or breaches of the Criminal Code as asserted in the appeals, nor any others that warrant attention from this second-instance court,” the statement reads.

The Court of Appeal indicated that a more detailed explanation of the verdict for Case No. 52/25 will be available on the Court of Appeal’s website.

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