Montenegro

PEN International, in collaboration with various Balkan PEN centres, publishes a report examining the many challenges faced by independent writers and journalists in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, and Serbia.

Leading press freedom and journalists’ organisations, including Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) partners, strongly condemn the decision by the Court of Appeals to reject Jovo Martinović’s appeal and uphold the first instance verdict of the High Court in Podgorica which convicted the journalist to 12 months of prison.

The High Court of Montenegro sentenced investigative journalist Jovo Martinović to one year in prison for participating in drug trafficking, despite clear evidence that he was working undercover as part of an investigation at the time.

Martinović, a specialist in covering organised crime, was convicted on trumped up charges of marijuana smuggling and criminal association. His re-trial is expected to begin within weeks.

Jovo Martinović was convicted on dubious charges including drug trafficking and membership of a criminal group; he was handed an 18 month jail sentence.

The investigation into the shooting of reporter Olivera Lakic has ground to a halt and she is now under attack by pro-government media.

Lakić is Motenegro’s most targeted journalist; she has been beaten and threatened numerous times in connection with her articles.

A car bomb exploded outside the journalist’s home; police believe that the attack was related to his work.

Jovo Martinovic has insisted on his innocence ever since his arrest, claiming that his only links with organised crime were those of a reporter.

Jovo Martinovic has insisted on his innocence ever since his arrest, claiming that his only links with organised crime were those of a reporter.

In an attempt to justify the blocking, the authorities said the apps were being used to disseminate “undesirable publicity messages.”

A car marked with the name of the the Montenegrin daily Vijesti was set ablaze on a street in the Podgorica on 13 February 2014, the latest of several attacks against Vijesti‘s journalists and property over the past eight years. In three separate incidents in 2011, four company cars were set on fire by unidentified assailants.

Dear IFEX Representatives, Below is text from and a link to a SEEMO statement on Montenegro posted to IPI’s website today. Best, Steven Ellis http://www.freemedia.at/home/singleview/article/journalist-assaulted-in-montenegro.html Journalist assaulted in Montenegro SEEMO demands investigation into attack, other recent incidents VIENNA, Jan 7, 2014 – The South East Europe Organisation (SEEMO), an affiliate of the International Press Institute […]

The International Federation of Journalists calls upon Montenegro’s authorities to investigate the bomb attack on Vijesti daily newspaper, and to address the recent attack on journalist Lidija Nikcevic by a masked man.