On the occasion of the Police Administration's call to newsrooms to submit lists of journalists who monitor crime in order to assess whether they are at risk of security, the Association of Professional Journalists of Montenegro appealed that "the media and journalists think about what this entails and whether they are ready for such a risk".
"The security assessment means that the National Security Agency, whose job it is, at the request of the UP, will check every journalist in detail - from personal life to journalistic contacts. This can represent the compromising of journalistic sources and the violation of personal rights and freedoms, which is one of the standards that is guaranteed by the European Court of Human Rights. For such a thing, the consent of every journalist should be sought, and by no means a group check of a third of the media community with the explanation that the police should do their job," states the statement of the DPNCG.
They add that the police are the first to take care of protecting the identities of their officers and informants, and that the Commission for Investigating Attacks on Journalists submitted partial data on investigations into threats to journalists, blacking out their names.
"That's why she should have a little more sensitivity when it comes to the rights and integrity of journalists. The security assessment requires personal consent and cannot be limited to colleagues who follow crime. That's why we appeal to journalists and newsrooms to think carefully and consult lawyers before the Administration the police have submitted the requested lists".
The DNPCG points out that the actions of the UP when it comes to the safety of journalists have so far been such that "it leaves more room for doubt than to believe in good intentions".
"Repeated attacks on our colleagues Olivera Lakić and Tufik Softić, and the cover-up of the investigation in the case of Mladen Stojović, are clear arguments that they, if not the prosecutors, did not do their job properly. Also, the violation of journalistic sources in the case of Vladimir Otašević and acting in defiance of the prosecutor's order , which was also confirmed by the Council for Citizen Control of Police Work, are the reasons that the police should not be given a free hand when it comes to journalists. After all, they should have informed us all first of all what security assessments entail and leave us the opportunity to decide, and not by tomorrow, they are asking the editorial offices to provide them with the lists," the announcement concludes.
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