5.  The applicant was born in 1938 and lived in Budva.
6.  On 8 October 2009 the applicant’s brother was murdered in Belgrade, Serbia. Shortly afterwards the applicant publicly offered a reward for any relevant information.
7.  On 29 April 2013 X was murdered in an ambush in Belgrade by 15 shots. X’s brother had been identified in 2010 by the Organised Crime Prosecution Service in Serbia as the leader of a criminal organisation responsible for, inter alia, the murder in 2003 of the then Prime Minister of Serbia.
8.  On 18 July 2013 the Organised Crime Prosecution in Serbia opened an investigation in respect of the applicant and several other persons in relation to the murder of X. The investigation order implied that the applicant had arranged the murder of X as he had considered X’s brother responsible for the murder of his own brother. On an unspecified date between 18 and 26 July 2013 the applicant was arrested in Montenegro.
9.  On 26 July 2013 the Ministry of Justice of Serbia sought the applicant’s extradition to Serbia on suspicion that he had committed an aggravated murder. On 29 January 2014 the High Court (Viši sud) in Podgorica refused the request, which decision was upheld by the Court of Appeals (Apelacioni sud). On an unspecified date in February 2014 the applicant was released from detention. On 4 April 2014 the Supreme State Prosecution of Montenegro authorised the applicant’s prosecution in Montenegro.
10.  On 8 April 2014 the applicant was arrested in Montenegro. The decision was based on the assessment that he could influence the witnesses and that his release could seriously disturb public peace and order. It also took into account the gravity of the offence he was suspected of and the severity of the penalty potentially faced.
11.  On 9 April 2014 the High State Prosecutor ordered an investigation (naredba o sprovođenju istrage) in respect of the applicant on reasonable suspicion that he had committed aggravated murder through incitement (teško ubistvo putem podstrekavanja).
12.  On 10 April 2014 the applicant was heard by an investigating judge of the High Court in Podgorica. He submitted, inter alia, that he had neither any reason nor any possibility to influence the other suspects given that they were in detention under a special regime in Belgrade. He also submitted that he had been in extradition detention for seven months and that the public had not been disturbed after he had been released. He also maintained that he had not fled, nor did he have any reason to do so, and that his wife and a minor child lived in Montenegro, too. He offered to hand in his passport and to put up bail (jemstvo) in lieu of detention.
13.  The same day the investigating judge ordered the applicant’s detention as of 8 April 2014, for one month at most, on reasonable suspicion (osnovana sumnja) that he had committed an aggravated murder through incitement, the penalty for which was ten years of imprisonment or more. The detention was ordered on the basis of Article 175 § 1(2) and (4) of the Criminal Procedure Code (hereinafter “CPC”; see paragraph 44 below). The decision specified that the applicant could influence witnesses. It also took into account the manner in which the offence had been committed, that the motive for it had been revenge and that the applicant’s release could provoke an outcry among the people and could threaten public peace and order. In view of all that it was considered unacceptable that the applicant remain free during the proceedings.
14.  On 15 and 24 April 2014 the High Court, in a three-judge panel, dismissed the appeals against the detention order lodged by the applicant and his representatives respectively. The court relied on the same reasons and found that there was no violation of Article 5 of the Convention.
15.  The applicant’s detention was further extended on 7 May, 6 June, 7 July, 4 August and 5 September 2014, each time for a month, relying on Article 175 § 1(2) and (4). The reasoning was the same as before: there was reasonable suspicion that the applicant had committed the said criminal offence; if released he could influence the witnesses, given that the investigation was ongoing and several witnesses were yet to be heard; the statutory penalty for the said criminal offence was ten years’ imprisonment or more, which offence was particularly grave in view of its motive – revenge – and its consequence – X’s death; and there were exceptional circumstances indicating that his release would seriously threaten public peace and order given that the media had extensively reported on the murder of X.
16.  By a decision of 20 June 2014 the Court of Appeals upheld the decisions of 7 May and 6 June 2014. The court also examined the applicant’s health-related and family circumstances and considered them to be “of no impact” (nijesu od uticaja). No appeal was allowed against the decisions of 7 July, 4 August and 5 September 2014.
17.  On 7 October 2014 the High State Prosecutor issued an indictment against the applicant for aggravated murder through incitement and for criminal association. The same day the High Court extended his detention “until a further decision of the court”. On 16 October 2014 the High Court’s decision was quashed by the Court of Appeal.
18.  On 17 October 2014 the High Court extended the applicant’s detention “until a further decision of the court”, on the basis of Article 175 § 1(4) of the CPC. It relied on the same reasons as before, and added that, if released, the applicant could abscond. It considered that detention was proportionate to the gravity of the criminal offence at issue, taking into account “all the circumstances of the case”, and that the purpose of detention from Article 175 § 1(4) could not be achieved by any other, less restrictive measure.
19.  On 22 October 2014 the High Court returned the indictment, requiring further investigation in respect of the offence of criminal association.
20.  On 31 October 2014 the Court of Appeals dismissed the appeals submitted by the applicant and his representatives against the decision of 17 October 2014 extending his detention. It considered that the High Court’s reasoning was clear and detailed, the only exception being the finding that the applicant could abscond, which was an obvious error (omaška), but it considered it of no importance for the lawfulness of his detention. It also held that what was relevant for the lawfulness of the applicant’s further detention was that the indictment should be issued within six months, which had been complied with given that the investigation had begun on 9 April 2014 and the indictment had been issued on 7 October 2014. It was of no relevance that the indictment had been returned, or that it had been issued for two criminal offences whereas the applicant’s detention had been extended relying on only one of the two. The court “also considered ... [the applicant’s] personal and family circumstances ... and ... other submissions, but found them ... of no influence”.
21.  On 13 November 2014 the High State Prosecutor ordered further investigation (naredba o proširenju istrage), in particular in respect of criminal association.
22.  On 15 December 2014 the applicant approached the prison authorities and sought that he be released. He submitted that his detention had not been reviewed after a 30-day period and that therefore it had been unlawful as of 15 November 2014. He relied on Article 179 § 2 of the CPC (see paragraph 47 below).
23.  The same day, 15 December 2014, the High Court extended his detention “until a further decision was taken by a court” relying on Article 175 § 1(4) of the CPC. The decision specified that the investigation had not been terminated yet, and given that the applicant was in detention the court of its own motion, pursuant to Article 179 § 2 of the CPC, reviewed his further detention. Invoking the same reasons as before, in particular that releasing the applicant would seriously threaten public peace and order, the court considered that there were sufficient reasons justifying the extension of detention. The court also considered that detention could not be replaced by any other, less restrictive measure.
24.  Between 19 and 22 December 2014 the applicant appealed against this decision. He submitted, in particular, that the court had failed to review within 30 days whether the reasons for his detention persisted, and when it had done so, it had merely copied the earlier reasoning without really examining what exactly would disturb public peace and order, as nothing had happened when he had been released after the seven-month extradition detention. He submitted that this was contrary to both national legislation and Article 5 of the Convention.
25.  On 25 December 2014 the Court of Appeals dismissed the appeals. It held that pursuant to Article 179 § 2 of the CPC the court had a duty to review whether the reasons for detention persisted and to issue a new decision extending or revoking it every 30 days before the indictment entered into force, and every two months after the indictment had come into force. However, the court’s failure to do so within the said time-limits by no means meant that the detention had ceased. It also held that the applicant’s detention had been lawful, as the indictment had been issued within six months. It was irrelevant that it had been returned and further investigation requested.
26.  On an unspecified date, apparently between 25 December 2014 and 8 January 2015, the applicant lodged a constitutional appeal. He relied on Articles 29 and 30 of the Constitution, Article 177 of the CPC (see paragraphs 38-39 and 46 below) and Articles 5, 6 and 13 of the Convention. He submitted, inter alia, that: (a) the courts had failed to review his detention and issue a relevant decision within 30 days; (b) his detention had already lasted for more than eight months without the indictment having entered into force even though it was statutorily limited to six months; (c) the decisions extending his detention had been insufficiently reasoned, the reasoning having been identical, merely copied from one decision to another, and the reasons set out in the first detention order could no longer suffice. In particular, the court had not taken into account the overall length of his detention or his personal circumstances – he was 77 years old at the time, had a minor daughter, had severe health problems, had never been convicted before, and had been a respectable citizen. Also, the decisions had not specified how long the detention would last, which made them arbitrary and his deprivation of liberty unlawful. The applicant referred to, inter alia, Letellier v. France, 26 June 1991, Series A no. 207; Clooth v. Belgium, 12 December 1991, Series A no. 225; and Jablonski v. Poland, no. 33492/96, 21 December 2000.
27.  On 29 May 2015 the Constitutional Court dismissed the applicant’s constitutional appeal, which decision was served on 9 January 2016. The court considered unfounded (neutemeljeni) the applicant’s allegations relating to his detention not having been reviewed within the statutory time‑limits and the indictment not having entered into force. It acknowledged that reasonable suspicion was a conditio sine qua non, but that after a certain time it was no longer sufficient. It held, however, that the High Court and the Court of Appeals had examined the existence of reasonable suspicion, assessed the existing evidence and other circumstances justifying the extension of detention, indicated which evidence had been taken into account and given clear and precise explanations in accepting them. Therefore, the disputed decisions were reasoned, there was no arbitrariness in them and hence no violation of Article 5.
28.  The applicant’s detention was further extended on 15 January, 30 January, 2 March, 2 April, 4 May, 4 June, 6 July, 6 August, 10 September, 9 October, 9 November and 9 December 2015, 11 January, 11 February, 11 March, 11 April, 11 May, 13 June, 15 July, 25 July, 1 September, 4 October and 4 November 2016. The decisions of 11 March, 11 April and 15 July 2016 have not been included in the case-file. All the other decisions extended detention “until a further decision of the court” and gave the same reasons for detention as before. All these decisions were upheld by the Court of Appeals. The court explicitly held that once the indictment had been issued and then returned the detention was extended or revoked pursuant to Article 179 § 2 of CPC.
29.  On 29 January 2015 the High State Prosecutor issued an indictment against the applicant for aggravated murder through incitement and for criminal association. On 13 February 2015 the High Court returned the indictment, seeking further investigation.
30.  Between 26 February 2015 and 23 September 2016 the applicant was hospitalised in Cetinje. He was hospitalised again on 28 November 2016. There is no information in the case file as to when he was released from hospital.
31.  Between 17 April 2015 and 10 August 2016 the time limit for finalising the investigation was extended 17 times, each time for one month, pursuant to the High State Prosecutor’s request to that effect.
32.  On 8 June 2016 an indictment was issued in Serbia against the applicant and several other persons for criminal association. On 15 July 2016 the indictment was approved by the High Court in Belgrade.
33.  On 22 July 2016 the High State Prosecutor in Podgorica issued a third indictment against the applicant for aggravated murder through incitement and for criminal association. On 19 October 2016 the indictment was returned for further investigation.
34.  On 25 July 2016 the applicant lodged a constitutional appeal against the High Court decision of 11 May 2016 extending his detention, and the Court of Appeals’ decision of 30 May 2016 upholding it. He invoked, inter alia, Articles 5, 6 and 13 of the Convention. He submitted that the Court had found a violation of Article 5 in a case identical to his, and referred to Mugoša v. Montenegro, no. 76522/12, 21 June 2016. He complained again about the unlawful detention, in particular between 15 November and 15 December 2014, and about all 25 decisions extending his detention being insufficiently reasoned, the reasoning having been copied from one decision to another. It would appear that this constitutional appeal is still pending.
35.  On 9 December 2016 the applicant’s detention was revoked and he was released. The High Court found that the reasons for his detention no longer persisted. The court took into account the length of detention thus far, the fact that the indictment had been returned for the third time, and that it was uncertain when and if at all it would come into force, and held that the applicant should not bear the consequences of that. It also took into account that the detention could last three years at most, as well as Article 6 of the Convention. This decision was upheld by the Court of Appeals on 14 December 2016.
36.  On 11 March 2017 the applicant was murdered in front of his house by at least 15 shots fired from a moving vehicle.
37.  On 13 April 2017 the High Court terminated the proceedings (obustavio postupak) due to the applicant’s death. The indictment against the applicant in Montenegro had never entered into force.