Podgorica, (MINA) - Podgorica, (MINA) - The pre-trial detention of the accused Vesna Medenica was justified due to the flight risk, given that following the first instance verdict the circumstances changed significantly, as her son Milos is on the run, the panel of the Podgorica High Court assessed.

The High Court recalled that in the first-instance verdict of January 28, Medenica was, among others, found guilty of the criminal offense of unlawful influence and sentenced to a single prison sentence of ten years and a fine of EUR 50,000.

The Court stated that the Special State Prosecutor’s Office (SDT) proposed ordering detention due to the risk of escape, which on January 28 the court rejected and imposed instead supervision measures, including a ban on leaving the place of residence and temporary confiscation of her travel documents.

That decision, as they stated, was annulled by the decision of the Court of Appeal on February 28 and the case was returned to the first-instance court for reconsideration, where the High Court accepted the SDT’s proposal of December 11.

According to the press release, the panel of judges found that the previous circumstances had changed significantly in the meantime, namely that the son of the accused is on the run and that his whereabouts are unknown to the judicial authorities, and this was taken into account when ordering detention.