Vesna Medenica Falls in Spuz, Rushed to Emergency Unit
Former Montenegrin Supreme Court president Vesna Medenica injured her head during a morning walk at the Spuz Investigation Prison and was rushed to the Emergency Unit of Montenegro's Clinical Center.
Vesna Medenica, the former president of Montenegro’s Supreme Court, injured her head during a morning walk inside the Spuz Investigation Prison and was rushed to the Emergency Unit of the Clinical Center of Montenegro (CCM). The case is being followed closely in Serbia as well, since Medenica spent years as one of the most influential judges in the region, and her prosecution for abuse of office raised questions about judicial independence that resonate across the whole Western Balkans.
According to Montenegrin outlets Aktuelno.me and Danas, citing the newspaper Pobjeda, Medenica tripped and fell while walking in the prison yard, injuring her head. The public broadcaster RTCG also confirmed the head injury during the morning walk, noting that it had nothing to do with any conflict with other inmates.
Was the injury the result of a conflict in the prison?
No. RTCG explicitly states that, according to initial information, Medenica injured herself while walking and that her injuries are not the result of any confrontation with other inmates. Following the fall, she was first examined by the prison doctor, then transferred to the Clinical Center of Montenegro for further checks at the institution’s Emergency Unit.
Her defense lawyer, Zdravko Begovic, confirmed that Medenica had an accident at the Investigation Prison and said doctors would determine after the examination whether the injuries were minor or more serious. As of this writing, the results of that examination were not yet known.
Why is Medenica in custody?
Medenica has been held in custody since February 28, 2026, after the Special State Prosecutor’s Office won an appeal citing a risk that she might flee. The Podgorica High Court sentenced her at first instance to ten years in prison on two counts of unlawful influence, while acquitting her of forming a criminal organization. According to RTCG, the ruling also carries a fine of 50,000 euros alongside the prison term.
Until her arrest, Medenica had spent years leading Montenegro’s Supreme Court, at a time when the European Union treated the independence of Montenegro’s judiciary as one of the benchmarks for the country’s progress toward membership. The unlawful influence charge on which she was convicted at first instance long stood as a symbol of that pressure, which is why her case is also being watched in the wider context of the rule of law in the region.
As of this writing, it remains unclear whether Vesna Medenica’s injuries are serious, or when the Clinical Center of Montenegro will release a final report.
