Miljkovic: We will appeal the verdict against Djukanovic; Phone searches could not constitute evidence

Attorney Predrag Miljkovic stated that he will file an appeal against the verdict by which Jelena Djukanovic was sentenced to six years’ imprisonment for espionage, emphasizing that mobile phones could not have been part of the evidentiary material.

“Today, Jelena Djukanovic was sentenced to six years’ imprisonment for the criminal offense of espionage. This verdict was expected, given that the evidence previously remitted by the Court of Appeals was reintroduced—that is, the court allowed the searches of the phones to be used as lawful evidence, even though there was no court order authorizing those searches. We will appeal this decision and pursue the matter all the way to the Constitutional Court. The fight will not stop,” Miljkovic said.

He explained that the issue concerns the principle of the right to privacy, which is guaranteed to every citizen by the Constitution.

“A mobile phone today represents our most valuable possession and our greatest sphere of privacy. Just imagine someone taking your phone—would you feel comfortable if it were searched without a court order? That is precisely what happened here,” Miljkovic stressed.

He added that the remaining evidence also does not support the allegation that Jelena Djukanovic committed the criminal offense with which she is charged.

“On the other hand, I believe that the remaining evidence does not provide any substantive basis for suspicion that she committed the offense in question. As you have heard, there were very few hearings—only two. At the first hearing, we analyzed that evidence. We will set out in greater detail in the appeal everything we think about it, so as not to elaborate now. In conclusion, we will appeal, and I am confident that this verdict, in its present form, will not stand,” Miljkovic concluded.

An official of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Mission in Kosovo, Jelena Djukanovic, was today sentenced by the Basic Court in Pristina to six years’ imprisonment for the criminal offense of “espionage.”