Podgorica, (MINA) - The detention of former MP of the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) Predrag Boskovic marks the beginning of a new phase of persecution of political opponents in Montenegro, said head of the parliamentary club of this party, Andrija Nikolic, and called on the prosecution not to abuse its powers and side with the authorities.

Boskovic was detained on Monday morning by order of the Special State Prosecutor’s Office, as part of an investigation into a criminal group which, according to the prosecution, was organized by businessman Aleksandar Mijajlovic.

Nikolic told a press conference in the Parliament that Boskovic’s detention, along with everything that is, according to DPS’s information, being prepared for the coming days, shows that a new phase of open persecution of opponents has begun.

“The prosecutor’s office has taken on the role of persecuting political opponents on behalf of the government. The critics can be found among the ranks of the NGO sector, media outlets, politicians, and even meme page administrators”, said Nikolic.

He added that it is clear that the parliamentary majority is falling apart and that these attempts serve to prevent the opposition from replacing the incompetent government.

He announced that the DPS will inform the EU Delegation in Podgorica, as well as the institutions in Brussels, about the information they possess.

Nikolic called on the prosecutor’s office “not to abuse its powers and not to side with the authorities”.

According to him, the main motive behind Boskovic’s arrest is to harm the DPS’s growing support and to discredit the new generation of politicians.

When asked to comment on the arrest of Boskovic, Nikolic reiterated that it was a case of political persecution, recalling that the Government of Zdravko Krivokapic “had also tried to attribute many things to him”.