Government asks for foreign experts’ help in solving old cases of attacks on journalists, saying experts from the FBI and other intelligence services will be hired as consultants.
Montenegro on Thursday asked for foreign experts’ help in solving old cases of attacks on journalists. Minister without portfolio Zoran Miljanic said the government will continue to insist on solving these attacks.
“We already asked the US and United Kingdom for expert help in investigating old cases of attacks on journalists. Experts from the FBI and other foreign intelligence services will be hired as consultants to help Montenegrin authorities close the old cases of attacks,” Miljanic told a government session.
“Our key priority is solving the case of Dusko Jovanovic’s murder,” he added.
On May 27, outgoing Prime Minister Dritan Abazovic said the government was ready to ask foreign experts to help solve the failed investigation into the murder of Jovanovic 18 years ago.
Abazovic called on the Special State Prosecution to reopen the investigation, stressing that people who can still testify in this case should get the status of cooperative witnesses.
The editor-in-chief and owner of the daily newspaper Dan, well known for his opposition to the then government, was shot dead on leaving his office in Podgorica on May 27, 2004. He had received numerous death threats.
European Affairs Minister Jovana Marovic said there would be no media freedom in the country without solving these attacks.
“Political parties and state officials should also refrain from verbal attacks on journalists and media whatever the disagreements with their editorial policy,” Marovic said.
The government adopted the Commission for Monitoring Violence against Media’s report, which suggests including foreign experts help in investigations.
The report also said the Commission’s cooperation with Special State Prosecution and the National Security Agency and police has improved.
The Commission for Monitoring Violence against Media was formed in December 2013, led by Dan’s then editor, Nikola Markovic. He accused the former government of obstruction and of lacking the political will to clarify the attacks, saying the Commission had been denied access to relevant data.
After a change of power in 2020, the new government appointed new members of the Commission, stressing that it should cooperate with the authorities and propose concrete measures after investigations.
In its 2021 progress report, the European Commission called on the country’s authorities to step up efforts to effectively investigate, credibly solve and adequately sanction cases of attacks against journalists.
“The authorities should promote an environment conducive to investigative journalism and media freedom by promptly reacting to and publicly condemning hate speech and threats, and by refraining from exercising political pressure on journalists, including through their public statements,” the Commission report said.
On March 30, the US State Department’s latest human rights report said unsolved attacks against journalists as violence and harassment remained a significant problem in Montenegro.