The Higher Court in Podgorica upheld the verdict of the Basic Court in the case of a priest of the Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC) Gojko Perovic led against the state because he was the target of the "Udar" portal, which appeared on the eve of the 2020 parliamentary elections.
It was used to wage a campaign against critics of the then government, journalists, politicians, civil activists and citizens who were then labeled as collaborators of foreign services and enemies of the state.
The verdict of the Podgorica Higher Court, which "Vijesti" had access to, states that the text and video published on that portal caused enormous moral damage to Perović, as well as to his family, given that he is a priest.
"According to this court's finding, the first instance court acted correctly when it found that in this specific legal matter there is state liability for the non-pecuniary damage caused," the Higher Court's decision states.
The document states, among other things, that the Agency for Electronic Media has determined that the existence of a portal has been detected that has not fulfilled its legal obligations, including registration and provision of identification.
It also states that the Ministry of Culture and Media had an obligation to ensure compliance with the law in terms of initiating proceedings to impose fines in cases of, among other things, failure to publish the content of media imprints.
They also confirmed that the Basic Court correctly assessed that the publication of Perović's name and picture and the accusations of espionage violated his right to psychological integrity.
The document states that all of the above indicates that the text was published with the intention of creating a negative impression of Perović in the public and discrediting his personality, and that freedom of expression was abused.
This is another in a series of rulings in the "Udar" case, and the dispute with the state was won by the journalists of "Vijesti". Siniša Luković i Vuk Lajović, politician Velizar Kaluđerović, former military officer Vlado Bulatović.
The controversial portal was removed from the internet a few days after the elections, while the YouTube channel still contains videos published during August 2020.
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