Podgorica, (MINA) - The Special Prosecutor’s Office (SPO) has filed an appeal with the Court of Appeal against the first-instance verdict of the High Court in Podgorica, by which Andrija Mandic, Milan Knezevic and 11 others were acquitted of the criminal charges related to the creation of a criminal organization and attempted terrorism.

In the first-instance ruling delivered by the Special Division of the High Court in the case known as the Coup d’état, Mandic and Knezevic, as well as E.S., V.P., B.D., P.B., N.R., S.Dj., K.H., B.M., M.D., D.M. and M.C, were acquitted of the charges.

According to the press release published on SPO’s website, the first-instance ruling was delivered on July 12 last year, and its certified copy was delivered to the SPO on June 3, with the legal instruction that an appeal can be filed within 15 days of receipt.

“The appeal was submitted due to significant violations of the criminal procedure and an erroneously established factual situation, and it was proposed that the second-instance court, considering the first-instance verdict has already been overturned once before, hold a hearing and issue a verdict that would find the defendants guilty of the charges”, the press release reads.