Kolasinac Zoran Bećirović (63), his son Luka Bećirović (27) and the businessman's bodyguard Mladen Mijatović (45) first they beat the journalist of "Pobjede" Anu Raickovic and her son, and when the two finally got to the car, Mijatović grabbed her by the neck and started strangling her, and the older Bećirović ran up, grabbed her by the hair and tried to pull her out of the car...
This is a summary of the incident the night before last in which journalist Raičković and her son were attacked and injured in front of a fast food establishment.
According to "Vijesti" information, Raičković arrived at a fast food facility in Block V in Podgorica around 22 p.m., where Bećirovići and Mijatović greeted her with the most primitive insults.
"They called her mercenaries of the drug cartel, pi**o, d***o, k***o, and then started filming the car she drove in and the registration, without stopping with the insults. She begged them to leave her alone, and then warned that she would call the police if they didn't stop, but they continued with even more serious insults and threats. All three of them did that," one of the interlocutors told "Vijesta".
"Vijesti" learned that the journalist, trying to calm the situation, despite the commotion, insults and threats, continued with the work she came for, approached the counter to pick up the food, and then called her son to ask him what he wanted from the side dish.
According to the "Vijesti" source, he heard that someone was insulting his mother and yelling at her, which is why she broke up with him.
"She called the police, and not long after, her son came and asked her: 'Mother, who touched you?' Then came the attack on him - all three started shouting and insulting him, and then started beating him. While she was trying to protect her son, they also started hitting the journalist. Somehow she managed to tear their son away from them and put him in the car, and then run into the driver's seat. Bećirović's bodyguard ran up first, grabbed her by the neck and started strangling her, and then Bećirović also grabbed her by the hair and tried to pull her out of the car. They screamed at her that they were going to kill her, demanding that she tell them the name of the guy who was with her, that is, the name of her son. They fought and threatened to find them. While she was trying to break away from them and start the car, one of the three approached from the back of the car and broke her windshield", "Vijesti" was told...
Arrests
Zoran Bećirović, his son Luka and the bodyguard of a businessman from Kolašin, Mladen Mijatović, were arrested shortly after they attacked a journalist from "Pobjeda" and her son on Sunday evening, around 22 p.m.
After the hearing at the Basic State Prosecutor's Office in Podgorica, they were detained for up to 72 hours.
Previously, the Police Administration announced that the two Bećirović and Mijatović were arrested after they first verbally and then physically attacked the editor of the black chronicle in "Pobjeda" at a restaurant on Sunday evening.
They explained that the three of them initially sent her words of offensive and threatening content.
"After that, two members of her family came to the aforementioned object and the victim, who were also verbally and then physically attacked by the same persons. In addition, ZB, LB and MM also broke the windshield of the damaged vehicle, and continued to hit the sheet metal with their hands, causing damage," said the Police Directorate.
In their announcement, it is added that officers of the Podgorica Security Department, undertaking activities within their jurisdiction, deprived Zoran and Luka Bećirović and Mijatović of their freedom:
"Due to the suspicion that they committed a criminal act of violent behavior to the detriment of three persons".
"We emphasize that the Police Administration, by acting in relation to this event, confirms its commitment to improving the safety of journalists, thus showing that their protection is one of the important priorities in our work. With an effective reaction in this case, we are sending a message that any form of endangerment of journalists will be treated seriously in order to preserve their safety and freedom of work", said the UP.
Who is Bećirović
Zoran Bećirović, as he himself said earlier in the courtroom, is a family friend of the former President of the Supreme Court Vesne Medenica, and he had several business arrangements with her. He is also on friendly terms with the former Montenegrin prime minister and former president of the country Milo Đukanović.
He was arrested at the end of November 2019, when special prosecutors suspected him of endangering the safety of a court expert from Kolašin. Aleksandar Rakočević and attempt to prevent proof.
Two months later, the Basic Court in Podgorica rejected the indictment against that businessman, who accused the then chief special prosecutor through his portal. Milivoj Katnić that he is trying in every way to deal with him personally and to persecute him since he came into office...
Bećirović was previously arrested by members of the Special Police Department, and a day later he was questioned at the Basic Prosecutor's Office in Podgorica, after it was assessed that the criminal offense charged against him was within their jurisdiction.
He was soon released, because the judge did not accept the prosecution's proposal to order him into custody.
At the time, it was unofficially said from the top of the Police Administration that Bećirović was deprived of his liberty because of the threatening messages he sent to the economic court expert from Kolašin, who was involved in cases related to that businessman.
Allegedly, in the messages sent to that court expert, he also mentioned Katnić, but also some other prosecutors.
At the beginning of December 2019, the then journalist Dana Vladimir Otašević he reported to the police that he was attacked by Mladen Mijatović in a shopping center while he was trying to take a photo Zoran Bećirović in the company of the then senior prosecutor Miloš Šoškić.
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We demand an investigation into the motives of the attack
Chief and responsible editor of "Pobjeda" Nenad Zečević told "Vijesti" that the editor and journalist, mother and wife at the same time, was attacked and that this represents an attack on democracy in Montenegro and free speech.
"We ask the state authorities to sanction this attack on media freedom and freedom of speech. We are looking for a society where there will be zero tolerance for attacks on free speech. We demand an urgent investigation into the motives of the attack, as well as a clear judicial response," Zečević said.
He thanked all his colleagues for the support provided by Ana Raičković and "Pobjeda".
The editorial board and editorial staff of that daily announced yesterday that 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, was a dangerous step on which the suspects of the attack stepped:
"Of which we suspect there are more than three".
"It's a dangerous step because from targeting journalists via the portal, violence has moved into real life and turned into physical violence, which cannot be justified by dissatisfaction with the journalist's job. 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 be the only one who understands and applies. "Pobjeda" will stand behind its employees and every journalist who is forbidden in any way to do his job responsibly and honorably", they said from "Pobjeda".
Now they will also investigate texts about the "Vijesti" journalist.
The Basic State Prosecutor's Office in Kolašin opened a case yesterday regarding the comments published on the "Aktuelno" portal, which refer to "Vijesti" journalist Dragana Šćepanović.
"During the investigation, the investigating judge will be required to issue an order to determine the IP addresses from which the comments were posted in order to identify the author, after which a detailed analysis of the content of the comments will assess the existence of elements of a criminal offense for which prosecution is undertaken ex officio," it was said. "News" in that prosecutor's office.
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On that portal, there has been a text hunt against Šćepanović for almost two years, which continued almost a year ago with "well-intentioned" warnings and the preparation of a petition against her reporting from Kolašin.
She is the author of a series of articles about the business of the ski resort "Kolašin 1450", owned by Zoran Bećirović.
That company is also behind the "Aktuelno" portal.
"Freedom of the media and the unhindered work of journalists is of fundamental importance for democracy and is a fundamental commitment of the Government. I expect that the competent authorities will effectively investigate the whole case and that the attackers will be held accountable for this unacceptable act," Prime Minister Milojko Spajić said yesterday on IX.
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The rise in violence calls for action
Every attack on journalists is an attack on freedom of the media, freedom of speech, the journalistic profession, but also democracy in Montenegro, and we must not allow that as a society," said the country's president Jakov Milatović yesterday.
He added that the state must clearly show that such actions are unacceptable and create an environment in which journalists will be able to do their work unhindered and without fear, he said.
"The fact that this is not an isolated case and that Montenegro has recently been facing an increase in overall violence and intolerance is worrying, which requires an effective reaction from the competent institutions, as well as the attention of the entire society. With the expectation that this case will receive a clear legal epilogue, my full support for Ana, along with wishes for a speedy recovery," said Milatović.
The President of the Assembly Andrija Mandić said that the attack on Raičković must be a warning to the state, but also a message to thugs: "You hit the foundation of democracy and you should be held accountable for that. This case must not remain just one in a series of unsolved cases. Therefore, the Assembly will do everything to protect the media and their freedom, and the many-year-old announcements that journalists will receive official status must now become a reality," he wrote on Iks.
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You can't join the EU like this...
Montenegro must lead a policy of zero tolerance towards any form of violence, pressure or harassment of journalists, said the ambassador of the European Union (EU) in Podgorica, Johan Satler.
He said that he expects a quick investigation and an effective judicial response in connection with last night's physical attack on "Pobjeda" journalist Ana Raičković.
"Violence against journalists has no place in a democratic society," Satler said on the Iks social network.
He added that media freedom, which is a key democratic value of the EU, is also a vital part of the process of Montenegro's accession to the Union.
"As a candidate country for EU membership, Montenegro must have a policy of zero tolerance towards any form of violence, pressure or harassment of journalists," said Satler.
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