Nikola Bulatović (born August, 28 1971) is a Montenegrin former basketball player, who is a current General Manager for

Podgorica Podgorica ( cnr-Cyrl, Подгорица; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Montenegro, largest city of Montenegro. The city is just north of Lake Skadar and close to coastal destinations on the Adriatic Sea. Histor ...

of the

Prva A Liga The Prva A liga, for sponsorships reasons named the Erste Liga, is the top-tier professional basketball league in Montenegro. It is the highest basketball division organized by the Basketball Association of Montenegro (KSCG). It was established in ...

and the

ABA League Second Division The ABA League Second Division, also ABA League 2, is the 2nd-tier men's basketball division of the ABA League system. It is run by the ABA League JTD. It is a regional competition between men's professional clubs from six countries: Bosnia and ...

Playing career

Bulatović started his career in his hometown team

Budućnost Podgorica Budućnost means "the future" in many Slavic languages, and it may also refer to: * SD Budućnost Podgorica, a sports society from Podgorica, Montenegro ** KK Budućnost Podgorica, a professional basketball club FK Budućnost may refer to: * FK B ...

. He was part of

Partizan Belgrade Jugoslovensko sportsko društvo Partizan ( sr-Cyrl, Југословенско спортско друштво Партизан, lit=Yugoslav Sports Society Partizan), commonly abbreviated as JSD Partizan ( sr-Cyrl, ЈСД Партизан, lin ...

squad that won national league and cup in 1994–95 season. He helped

FMP Železnik FMP may refer to: Entertainment * For My Pain..., a Finnish gothic metal band * Fox Movies Premium, an Asian movie channel * Free Music Production, a German jazz record label * Full Moon Productions, a defunct American record label * ''Full Metal ...

to win their first national cup trophy in 1997 before returning to Budućnost, where he won two consecutive national titles. He returned to Partizan for the 2000–01 season before moving abroad, to Italian side

Montepaschi Siena Mens Sana Basketball Siena, also known as simply Mens Sana, is an Italian professional basketball club based in Siena. It is a section of the sports club Polisportiva Mens Sana, founded in 1871. Under the name Montepaschi Siena, derived from spon ...

. He was the part of the side that won the last ever

Saporta Cup The FIBA Saporta Cup, founded as ''FIBA European Cup Winners Cup'', was the name of the second-tier level European-wide professional club basketball competition, where the domestic National Cup winners, from all over Europe, played against eac ...

trophy. Next season he played for Israeli side

Hapoel Tel Aviv Hapoel Tel Aviv () is a sports club in Israel, founded in the 1920s, and part of the Hapoel association. It runs several sports clubs and teams in Tel Aviv which have competed in a variety of sports over the years, such as football, basketball, w ...

. In 2003 he signed for Greek club

Apollon Patras :''The first version of this article has been based in the text of :el:Α.Σ. Απόλλων of the :el:Κύρια Σελίδα, Greek Wikipedia published under the GFDL.'' A.S. Apollon Patras (Greek language, Greek:''A.Σ. Απόλλων Πατ ...

but was released in August, before the season even started. Next few months he spent in Ukraine, in

Azovmash Mariupol MBC Mariupol (, formerly BK Azovmash) was a Ukrainian professional basketball club. It was founded in 1990 in the city of Mariupol in South-Eastern Ukraine. Mariupol was one of the strongest teams in Ukraine along with Kyiv, Khimik, and Cher ...

, before getting released in February 2004. Next month he rejoined his first club, Budućnost, but left soon without playing single game. He went to Romanian club CSU Asesoft Ploieşti where he was part of the squad that won

EuroCup Challenge The FIBA EuroCup Challenge was the 4th-tier level transnational professional continental club basketball competition in Europe, organised by FIBA Europe. However, it was Europe's 3rd-tier level club basketball competition in its inaugural 2002� ...

in 2005. Next season he started in Cyprus playing for

AEL Limassol Athlitiki Enosi Lemesou () is a Cyprus, Cypriot sports club based in the city of Limassol, most famous for its football team. AEL Limassol also maintains a AEL Limassol B.C., men's and AEL Limassol B.C. (women), women's basketball teams, a wom ...

, in January 2006 he made a brief return to Asesoft Ploieşti, and month later he signed with Igokea from Bosnia. His last known club was Beovuk, a lower league club from Belgrade.

National team career

Bulatović won gold medals at both the 1997 European Championship and 1998 World championship with the Yugoslavian national team.

Managerial career

In August 2019, Bulatović joined Lovćen 1947 as an assistant coach. In 2020, Bulatović was added to the staff of

as a General Manager of the team.

Personal life

Rape case

In 1998, Bulatović was charged with

rape Rape is a type of sexual assault involving sexual intercourse, or other forms of sexual penetration, carried out against a person without consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or against a person ...

, a criminal accusation he was subsequently found guilty of in two separate trials. The event in question took place on 27 May 1998 in his Belgrade apartment where, as determined in two Belgrade trials, the 27-year-old

center Bulatović raped the

underage In law, a minor is someone under a certain age, usually the age of majority, which demarcates an underage individual from legal adulthood. The age of majority depends upon jurisdiction and application, but it is commonly 18. ''Minor'' may also ...

15-year-old gymnasium student N.S. who showed up to his apartment with the intention of completing an earlier commenced interview for a

school paper A student publication is a media outlet such as a newspaper, magazine, television show, or radio station produced by students at an educational institution. These publications typically cover local and school-related news, but they may also repo ...

. She was of legal

age of consent The age of consent is the age at which a person is considered to be legally competent to consent to Human sexual activity, sexual acts. Consequently, an adult who engages in sexual activity with a person younger than the age of consent is un ...

for sexual activity according to Serbian laws at the time. Bulatović pleaded not guilty, claiming the

sexual intercourse Sexual intercourse (also coitus or copulation) is a sexual activity typically involving the insertion of the Erection, erect male Human penis, penis inside the female vagina and followed by Pelvic thrust, thrusting motions for sexual pleasure ...

with N.S. was

consensual Consent occurs when one person voluntarily agrees to the proposal or desires of another. It is a term of common speech, with specific definitions used in such fields as the law, medicine, research, and sexual consent. Consent as understood in ...

. The investigation process at the Belgrade District Court was presided by the investigating judge Dobrivoje Gerasimović. At the very first discovery session, the entire FMP Železnik player roster led by the club's owner and president

Nebojša Čović Nebojša Čović ( sr-Cyrl, Небојша Човић; born 2 July 1958) is a Serbian businessman, basketball executive, and politician. Since 2011, he has been serving as the president of . Early years and education Čović was born in Belgrad ...

showed up at the court session in support of Bulatović. Over the subsequent few months, Bulatović—who simultaneously made the FR Yugoslavia national team for the 1998 World Championship—transferred to

KK Budućnost KK Budućnost (, ), currently known as Budućnost VOLI () for sponsorship reasons, is a professional basketball Sports club, club based in Podgorica, Montenegro. The club competes in Montenegrin Basketball League and Adriatic League. It is a par ...

during the summer transfer window, a move that entailed relocation from Belgrade to Podgorica and was seen by some as an attempt to evade responsibility. With Bulatović charged with rape, the first court date of the trial at the Belgrade District Court took place on 23 September 1998, with Bulatović absent due to professional obligations. He showed up at the next court date, held on 19 October 1998, providing testimony for two hours. In December 1998, the trial concluded with Bulatović sentenced to three years in prison. On appeal, the verdict was overturned and the new trial in June 2003 resulted in a 5-year sentence for Bulatović. Explaining the increased length of the second sentence, judge Dragoljub Albijanić—presiding over the Belgrade District Court judicial council that passed down the verdict—stated that the circumstances of the accused being a national team member when committing the crime as well as the victim suffering long term psychological effects were taken as aggravating factors. After another appeal, the case went before the Serbian Supreme Court where the lower court's verdict was confirmed in January 2006. With the dissolution of the

Serbia and Montenegro The State Union of Serbia and Montenegro or simply Serbia and Montenegro, known until 2003 as the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and commonly referred to as FR Yugoslavia (FRY) or simply Yugoslavia, was a country in Southeast Europe locate ...

state union later that year, the case was transferred to the newly independent

Montenegro , image_flag = Flag of Montenegro.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Montenegro.svg , coa_size = 80 , national_motto = , national_anthem = () , image_map = Europe-Mont ...

's judicial system in accordance with Bulatović's primary place of residence in

, Montenegro. Podgorica Lower Court thus became responsible for processing the stipulations in the verdict, but reportedly failed to do so in timely manner. In May 2009, at the Belgrade District Court's urging—with Bulatović still a free man more than three years after the final verdict—an

Interpol The International Criminal Police Organization – INTERPOL (abbreviated as ICPO–INTERPOL), commonly known as Interpol ( , ; stylized in allcaps), is an international organization that facilitates worldwide police cooperation and crime cont ...

arrest warrant An arrest warrant is a warrant issued by a judge or magistrate on behalf of the state which authorizes the arrest and detention of an individual or the search and seizure of an individual's property. Canada Arrest warrants are issued by a jud ...

was issued for his capture. After two and half years on Interpol's wanted list, Bulatović was arrested in

Santo Domingo Santo Domingo, formerly known as Santo Domingo de Guzmán, is the capital and largest city of the Dominican Republic and the List of metropolitan areas in the Caribbean, largest metropolitan area in the Caribbean by population. the Distrito Na ...

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Puerto Rico to the east and ...

in December 2011. Within days, he was

extradited In an extradition, one jurisdiction delivers a person accused or convicted of committing a crime in another jurisdiction, into the custody of the other's law enforcement. It is a cooperative law enforcement procedure between the two jurisdic ...

to MontenegroNikola Bulatović izručen Crnoj Gori
''Blic'', 18 December 2011 where he began serving his 5-year sentence. He was released from Spuž prison in November 2015 having served four years and fifteen days, an early release reportedly due to the expiry of statute of limitations.

References

External links

Eurobasket.com profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bulatovic, Nikola 1971 births Living people Centers (basketball) AEL Limassol B.C. players BC Azovmash players KK Beovuk 72 players KK Budućnost players KK FMP (1991–2011) players KK Igokea players KK Partizan players KK Profikolor players Mens Sana Basket players Hapoel Tel Aviv B.C. players Montenegrin expatriate basketball people in Serbia Montenegrin men's basketball players Montenegrin prisoners and detainees Montenegrin people convicted of rape People extradited from the Dominican Republic People extradited to Montenegro Basketball players from Podgorica FIBA World Championship–winning players 1998 FIBA World Championship players Serbia and Montenegro men's basketball players Yugoslav men's basketball players Sportspeople convicted of crimes Serbia and Montenegro expatriate sportspeople in Italy Serbia and Montenegro expatriate sportspeople in Cyprus Serbia and Montenegro expatriate sportspeople in Ukraine Serbia and Montenegro expatriate sportspeople in Israel Serbia and Montenegro expatriate sportspeople in Romania Montenegrin expatriate basketball people in Bosnia and Herzegovina Montenegrin expatriate sportspeople in Israel Montenegrin expatriate sportspeople in Cyprus Montenegrin expatriate basketball people in Romania Montenegrin expatriate sportspeople in Ukraine Montenegrin expatriate basketball people in Italy Expatriate basketball people in Ukraine Expatriate basketball people in Cyprus Expatriate basketball people in Israel