Lazović: They have been digging through my communications for 30 years and found nothing, the truth is always the truth

Although evidence is not always the truth, the truth is always the truth. Searches of my phones and analysis of their contents have confirmed what was demonstrated by witness testimonies, documentary evidence and expert findings: that everything I stated before the prosecutor during the investigation and at the main hearing in my defence was the truth - former Deputy Police Director Zoran Lazović told the High Court.

The trial of Lazović, former Chief Special Prosecutor Milivoje Katnić and suspended prosecutor Saša Čađenović, who are accused by the prosecution of subordinating their official positions to the interests of the Kavač criminal clan, continued with the defendants commenting on the evidence presented.

Lazović said that his phones had been searched over the period from 2013 to 2024, spanning 11 years.

- I believe that, if they had the technical capabilities, which I am sure they did, they also enlisted the assistance of partner services, Interpol, Europol and others. They have been digging through my communications for the past 30 years and have found nothing. Not because they are incapable of finding anything, but because there is nothing that could compromise me - not a single letter, word, voice message, text message, video, audio recording or photograph that could discredit me morally or professionally - Lazović said.

He stressed that investigators had found nothing that could give rise to his criminal liability.

According to Lazović, more than 17,000 pages of material extracted from Katnić’s phone, together with material from Čađenović’s phone, contained not a single request from him asking them to protect or grant preferential treatment to Duško Roganović or anyone else.

- There is not a single instance of me expressing an interest in any criminal case. My communications show that I had no such interest in relation to any prosecutor, police officer or judge - Lazović stressed.

He reiterated that everything he had done had been in accordance with the law and the rules of the service.

Lazović also explained that he had voluntarily handed over his phones to officers of the Special Police Department.

He said that none of the phones had a passcode or any form of protection.

- I have never used covert means of communication, encrypted applications or smartphones. Neither I nor my lawyers were present when the phones were searched - Lazović said.

Although, as he added, he had proposed at the previous hearing that all his communications, messages and other content stored on the phones be presented in court, as he had no problem with this, he withdrew the request out of respect for the time of everyone involved in the proceedings.

- So that I would not do what I criticised the prosecutor for doing, and so that I would not turn this into a public spectacle, since there is not a single message or anything else that incriminates me, I withdrew that request. You, Honourable Members of the Trial Chamber, are in a position to verify this for yourselves - Lazović said.

He also addressed messages read out at the previous hearing that former Deputy Prime Minister and Security Services Coordinator Dritan Abazović had sent to Katnić.

- He congratulated Katnić and expressed his support for the operation carried out in Herceg Novi. It was conducted by prosecutor Čađenović together with the Sector that I headed - Lazović recalled.

He added that, following detailed checks by the National Security Agency and the Police Directorate, the government led by Zdravko Krivokapić, in which Abazović served as Security Services Coordinator, had granted him protected-person status because of threats posed by criminal groups. He said that the government led by Dritan Abazović had subsequently confirmed that status as well.

- This shows how tenable the claim is that I formed a criminal organisation at the time, allegedly including Katnić and Čađenović as members - Lazović pointed out.

He proposed that the court request copies of those government decisions.

The trial will continue on 3 November.