The brutal verbal and physical attack on Ana Raičković, a journalist and editor of the black chronicle column in "Pobjeda", is an unacceptable act of violence, the editorial board and editorial office of that newspaper announced.
"The uncivilized and barbaric confrontation with the journalist, in the presence of her family members, which resulted in physical injuries and the destruction of her car, is a dangerous step taken by the suspects of the attack, of which we suspect there are more than three. It is a dangerous step because from the targeting of journalists through the portal, the violence moved into real life and turned into physical violence, which cannot be justified by dissatisfaction with the journalist's job," the announcement reads.
Businessman Zoran Ćoćo Bećirović, his son Luka Bećirović and Mladen Mijatović were arrested on suspicion of physically attacking journalist Raičković and her family members last night in Podgorica.
"Bećirović had to remain in the domain of addressing the public, with a denial or a statement, if he believes that anything written about him is not true, and instead he arrogantly expressed his power over the journalist Raičković and her family members - physical force that he seems to only understand and apply ", they say from "Pobjeda".
They say they will stand behind their employees and every journalist who is forbidden in any way to do his job responsibly and honorably.
"We take the harsh condemnations of the attack expressed since morning by the President of the State, the Prime Minister, the President of the Assembly, the Minister of Media, the Ombudsman and media bodies very seriously, as the protection of my colleague Raičković and all the media, and not as a possible political instrument. We leave it to the authorities to carry out their work, first of all we mean the police, the prosecution and finally the court. And Pobjeda, as the oldest printed media in Montenegro, will continue to do its work honorably, as it should, without leaving the domain of the professional and ethical. We ask the state authorities to sanction this attack on the personality, freedom of the media, and democracy. We ask for a society in which there will be zero tolerance for attacks on free speech," the statement reads.
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