Podgorica, (MINA) - The Appellate Court has overturned the ruling of the Podgorica High Court and sentenced members of the criminal organization led by Mile Radulovic to a total of 26 years in prison.

The Appellate Court rejected as unfounded the appeals filed by the defense attorneys of the accused Martin and Stefan Jankovic, Edin and Elvin Muratovic, Vladimir Ulama, Marko Perunicic and Stefan Micic, against the verdict of the Podgorica High Court and upheld the appeal of the Special State Prosecutor’s Office (SDT), changing the ruling regarding the length of the sentence.

“The Court sentenced the defendants for the criminal offense of forming a criminal organization to a total of 26 years in prison”, the Court stated, explaining that the accused Jankovics, Muratovics, Ulama, Perunicic and Micic had been previously sentenced for the criminal offenses of organized crime, corruption, terrorism and war crimes to a total of 19 years in prison.

The Appellate Court found that the sentences imposed on the accused did not sufficiently reflect the extremely high degree of social danger posed by the criminal offense with which they were charged, as well as the manner of execution, premeditation and persistence to an extent that significantly exceeds the level necessary to constitute the criminal offense for which the accused were declared guilty.

For these reasons that court changed the sentencing decision and imposed stricter prison sentences with a total duration of 26 years.