Another Five Suspects Confess to Plotting Coup Attempt in Montenegro – Reports

Five people suspected of plotting the October 2016 coup attempt in Montenegro signed the plea agreement with the country’s Special State Prosecutor’s Office and were released from custody, local media reported on Saturday.

BELGRADE (Sputnik) — According to the RTCG broadcaster, the plea agreement was signed by Nikola Duric, Sinisa Cetkovic, Aleksandar Curovic, Dejan Stanojevic and Milan Dusic, who were sentences to five months imprisonment.

Earlier in February, another three suspects signed the plea agreement, with the country’s parliament (Skupstina) having voted to lift the immunity of the leaders of the opposition Democratic Front Andrija Mandic and Milan Knezevic on suspicion of participating in the preparation of a coup attempt.

On the voting day on October 16, 2016, 20 people were detained during the parliamentary elections in the country. They were allegedly planning to kill Milo Djukanovic, the country’s prime minister, and seize the parliament’s building. According to media reports, the majority of the detainees have admitted their guilt.

Last week, Montenegrin prosecutor Milivoje Katnic accused Russian secret service operatives of plotting a coup during Montenegro's October 2016 elections to forestall the country's NATO membership bid. Moscow refuted the accusations, with Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov calling the accusations unsubstantiated and irresponsible.