Exploring Do Kwon's "new home": the overcrowded Balkan Spitz Prison

Author: Isabel Hunter & Ana Ćurić

Compile | PANews

Do Kwon now breathes fresh air twice a day, and his "new home" is filled with organized criminals awaiting trial -- and he, alone.

Do Kwon’s lawyer, Goran Rodic, revealed that the co-founder and CEO of Terraform Labs, who was once a leader in the encryption industry, is now being held alone in the pretrial detention area of a dilapidated prison in Montenegro, and is not held together with other prisoners.

Earlier this year, Do Kwon tried to leave Montenegro on a private jet using a Costa Rican passport, but he was unsuccessful because his passport was deemed "maliciously crafted" by prosecutors at the District Court of the Montenegrin capital Podgorica, and was finally released in June. On the 19th, he was sentenced to four months in prison for forging a passport. So in the foreseeable period of time, the Spritz Prison in the small Balkan country of Montenegro will be Do Kwon's "new home".

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In 2022, Do Kwon is definitely the most well-known successful person in the encryption industry. The Terra blockchain ecosystem created by him was once as high as 60 billion US dollars. But now, Do Kwon is leading a different life. Twice a day, prison guards give him the chance to get out of his cell to stretch out in the courtyard of Sprze Prison, an overcrowded prison a dozen kilometers northwest of the Montenegrin capital Podgorica.

After being convicted by prosecutors of using a fake passport, Do Kwon could only serve up to four months in prison. His accomplice Han Chang-Joon was also arrested trying to leave Montenegro and also had no chance of being released. In May 2022, Do Kwon was accused of fraud by South Korean and US prosecutors due to the collapse of Terra and was wanted. However, because Do Kwon hid Bitcoin in a Swiss bank, he had enough funds to escape , has been hiding in Serbia and Montenegro for the past six months, successfully escaping the pursuit of Interpol's red notice.

In fact, if Montenegro judicial officials extradite Do Kwon and his accomplices, they face a minimum of six months in prison. Do Kwon's lawyer revealed that at this stage Do Kwon is in good condition and emotionally stable, but the conditions in the prison are very poor. Unlike in the movie, it is not easy for anyone to go to prison.

Above: The gate of Spritz Prison in Montenegro

Sprze Prison is the largest prison in Montenegro, located in the Belopavlic Valley between Podgorica and Danilovgrad, and incidents of prison guards beating prisoners have been exposed before. In February of this year, hundreds of inmates at Spritz Prison went on hunger strike for eight consecutive days to demand better conditions in the prison, protesting overcrowded cells, poor food quality and poor medical conditions.

Do Kwo enjoys privileges in Spritz Prison

According to Aleksandra Dubak, legal adviser to the Civic Alliance, an NGO that oversees prisons in Montenegro, the Spritz prison houses some of the most militant mafia families in the Balkans, as well as a group of gang associates, accused of murder, Planting bombs, racketeering and running international drug smuggling. According to local media reports, the gang violence in Spritz prison was so serious that the authorities had to increase surveillance to ensure that gang members did not overlap.

Aleksandra Dubak further stated that Spritz Prison officials as well as housed members of rival gangs in different areas of the prison to minimize contact and thereby prevent violence. But doing so has led to problems such as uneven distribution of prison space and overcrowding. At the beginning of the year, there were 380 prisoners in a pre-trial detention center that could accommodate 292 people in Spitz Prison.

Unlike most of the other prisoners, though, Do Kwon has a single cell.

Aleksandra Dubak explained: "Spritz has had problems with overcrowding for many years, but if prisoners can have solitary cells, there must be a special reason, maybe a health condition, or a serious risk of violence or other special requirements .”

Do Kwon's lawyer, Goran Rodic, did not seem concerned about his life behind bars, and said it was too early to talk about appealing the falsified conviction and that his focus was now on preparing a review of the extradition case. Meanwhile, Goran Rodic revealed that as of Tuesday (June 20) Do Kwon still had not received the extradition papers.

Do **Kwon's extradition request may cause political turmoil in Montenegro? **

In fact, as early as March 29, Montenegro Justice Minister Marko Kovac revealed at a press conference on the issue of Do Kwon's extradition that local judges would consider all factors, including the seriousness of the criminal offense, the location where the criminal offense occurred, The order in which the extradition request was received and the citizenship and other circumstances of the person.

But a Montenegro High Court spokesman confirmed that Do Kwon will remain in custody while the country considers South Korea's extradition request. It is worth mentioning that Do Kwon and his accomplices initially offered to pay a "six-figure" bail and obtained the permission of the judge, but after the prosecution appealed, the decision was overturned.

According to local media reports, Do Kwon has close ties to a political party in Montenegro called “Europe Now,” which was founded by cryptocurrency-friendly politician Milojko “Mickey” Spajić. While in prison, Do Kwon even wrote a letter to outgoing Montenegrin Prime Minister Dritan Abazovic, revealing that he and Milojko “Mickey” Spajić were business partners.

It is reported that "Europe Now" opponents have asked the Montenegrin Special State Prosecutor's Office to investigate Do Kwon's letter to Montenegrin Prime Minister Dritan Abazovic, but the "Europe Now" party seems to dismiss these actions, saying that someone used Do Kwon and Milojko " Mickey” Spajić for political attacks.

Not only that, in the latest parliamentary elections in Montenegro, the "Europe Now" party won a quarter of the seats, and they have begun to seek cooperation with other parties to form a coalition government in Montenegro, which means that as the leader of the "Europe Now" party Milojko “Mickey” Spajić is likely to hold the top job of the next Montenegrin government – Prime Minister.

It is reported that in view of the complicated background behind this case, the Office of the Special State Prosecutor of Montenegro has decided to initiate an inquiry on the relationship between Do Kwon and Milojko “Mickey” Spajić, and the next hearing will be held on Friday local time.