Drawing a target to a journalist Vuk Vujisic, with the accusation that he "clouded" the action to suppress the illegal exploitation of gravel in which several persons were detained, for the duty basic state prosecutor are not alarming - he assessed that in the proceedings Aleksandar Stanić there are no elements of being a criminal offense that is prosecuted ex officio.
Stanić was identified by the police as the person who, three days ago, in front of the "Vijesti" team and inspectors, indirectly threatened a journalist from the PCNEN portal. Stanić then told the journalist "Vijesti" Bork Zder threatened to throw him in Morača.
The Police Administration unofficially told "Vijest" that Stanić was identified shortly after Vujisić filed a report and asked the inspectors to determine the identity of the resident of Botun who mentioned him to his colleagues, accusing him of being paid to write articles about illegal gravel exploitation.
Vujisić has been reporting on this topic for months, and earlier he announced that he was threatened with death, "warned him" and attacked him on the field.
The Association of Professional Journalists (DPN) asked the prosecutor's office if this fact was not enough to initiate an investigation.
"We hope that the prosecution will finally start looking a little wider than usual. If colleague Vujisić publicly says that he had several threats because of his work and civil activism, doesn't that deserve an investigation? The threat to a colleague from "Vijesti" is probably enough, unless we have to wait until they actually throw him into the river, pull out the laths, batons... But, even then, the prosecutors did not try to find the attackers, so the statute of limitations continued due to the lack of evidence." , said the DPN, alluding to unexplained attacks on journalists.
They also pointed out that while changes to the Criminal Code are expected in terms of harsher penalties for threats and attacks on those who do work of public importance, the question arises whether we are "blaming for nothing" if the Prosecutor's Office is looking through a loophole, instead of seeing the broad context.
"What will changing the law mean while prosecutors turn a blind eye and colleagues receive threats. Isn't that a criminal offense?" asked the DPN.
They emphasized that they will offer and provide legal support to their colleagues in this and all other cases.
The threats to Vujisic and Žder were also commented on by the Media Union of Montenegro (SMCG), saying that journalists must be allowed to work freely and without fear.
They emphasized that in the previous seven days, four journalists were attacked, and only because of the work they do, adding that they work under constant pressure, as evidenced by recent events.
SMCG strongly condemned all kinds of pressure on the work of public speakers, regardless of whether they come from politicians, public figures or citizens.
"Journalists Vuk Vujisić and Borko Ždero were recently the targets of threats from citizens for reporting on the exploitation of gravel in Morača, while the journalist Nikoleta Rakočević was verbally attacked in Mojkovac, again because of the media coverage of pre-election activities in that city", said SMCG.
They also stated that he is a journalist Nenad Zecevic called to testify in the High Prosecutor's Office for writing about the security sector, which, they said, could be perceived as pressure due to dissent to report.
Condemning the attack and threats, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management said that the mission of journalists is to be guided by the public interest in their reporting and to point out everything that endangers or may endanger the public interest.
"If the entire system does not act preventively, then an environment is created that encourages individuals to interfere with journalists or state authorities while performing their duty. On this occasion, we thank all public officials and invite them to continue to contribute in this and all other cases, so that we can jointly stand in the way of decades of destruction and devastation of our natural resources. We will solve the issue of destroying the beds of our rivers to the end. Attacks on journalists must not be tolerated and the state must protect the right to freedom of speech and reporting".
Two days ago, after reporting the threats, Vujisić said that this will not stop him and that he will not stop with the research until the last devastator is chased away from Morača.
"They call me a mercenary, and those who steal gravel from the state in just half an hour earn twice as much as my income. This fight cost me a lot of nerves, time, stress, even vehicles and money, but I'm happy that the state recognized the problem and reacted. I will not stop until the last devastator is chased away from Morača and punished, and I hope neither will my colleagues and activists, as well as the officers working on this case."
Last week, several people were arrested for illegal exploitation of gravel, but they were all released after a hearing at the Basic State Prosecutor's Office in Podgorica.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management announced that the state was damaged by this illegal business for around 138 million euros.
At an extraordinary press conference, they announced that construction companies carrying out works on the highway and/or building buildings illegally extracted tons of sand from the Morača and Cijevna riverbeds and devastated the river courses, pointing out that every stone has been extracted from Montenegrin rivers since the end of 2020 illegal business.
However, it was not explained how certain companies have been doing this work for years, given that the moratorium on exploitation was introduced back in 2017.
The absence of adequate penalties is a concern
Threats and targeting of journalists and environmental activists who dealt with the problem of illegal gravel mining were also condemned by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management.
"In a democratic society, it is inadmissible to target public speakers and draw targets for them, especially in cases where the greatest public interests are at stake," reads the announcement of the Ministry headed by Aleksandar Stijović.
They assessed that it is also worrying that the judicial system in such situations, which are repeated, does not have adequate sanctions for the perpetrators.
"In the course of several months of work, representatives of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management were often faced with violent behavior and threats on the spot, and we fully understand and know what young journalists are going through. At a time when the importance of environmental issues is being recognized around the world, three decades of carelessness about the natural environment are behind us, which we are determined to stand in the way of.
The Socialist People's Party (SNP) condemned the threats addressed to Vujisic and Žder, judging that it is obvious that the basic postulates of democracy do not yet apply to some.
"And that they have never heard of the freedom of media and journalists. Reporting on all topics in Montenegro, no matter how important they are to someone, must be carried out without pressure of any kind... We expect that those who dared to threaten the mentioned journalists will be promptly and adequately prosecuted".
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