The Center for Civil Rights (CGP) announced today that, based on footage from the protest in front of Villa Gorica on July 8 this year, it has identified and filed criminal charges against four members of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MUP) of Montenegro for exceeding their official authority and using excessive force against citizens, mostly elderly people.
"A complaint was filed with evidence against: Goran Jokić, Head of the Podgorica Security Center, Milan Radusinović, a member of the Police Department, Novica Varagić, a member of the Police Department, and Božo Bulatović, a member of the Police Department. On July 8, 2025, during a peaceful civil protest against the collapse of anti-fascist values and the institutional legitimization of extremism and Nazism, the aforementioned individuals used force and pepper spray against unarmed, peaceful citizens, many of whom were elderly, who were injured. It is particularly concerning that the means of coercion were used by officers without uniforms, without official insignia and without the state emblem, which further violated the legal and ethical standards of police work," the CGP statement signed by Svetlana Pajović Music emphasizes.
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The CGP added that this behavior is a direct consequence of the unprofessional and dangerous manner of command of the Chief of the Security Center (CB) Podgorica, Goran Jokić, who has previously commanded in professionally very questionable police interventions, including:
- The attack by the police under his command on those gathered at Adžića krivina (September 5, 2021), during the violent enthronement of Joanikije Mićović on the throne of St. Peter of Cetinje – when the video recorded him ordering the police to attack first, declaring "I prefer them than they prefer us."
- Unforgivable failures in the management of police actions during the mass crime in Medovina (August 12, 2022), which still remain without an appropriate institutional response today, as well as in the repeated mass crime of January 1, 2025.
The CGP statement also states that in the recent incident in front of Vila Gorica, in addition to citizens being injured, police officers were also injured, which, they said, clearly indicates that the use of force was indiscriminate, disorganized, and contrary to the basics of security tactics.
"Because of all the above, we demand: From the Montenegrin opposition to initiate an urgent convening of a session of the Committee on Security and Defense of the Parliament of Montenegro, with the presence of the Minister of Internal Affairs, the Director of Police and representatives of the Council for Civilian Control of Police Work. That the Police Directorate and the Internal Control Sector urgently initiate disciplinary and criminal proceedings against those responsible, and that they present to the public a complete report on the event and the role of each of the appointed officers. That the Protector of Human Rights and Freedoms (Ombudsman) finally make a statement, who, by his own duty, must react in cases of possible violation of Article 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which guarantees the right to peaceful assembly," the non-governmental association said.
They also stated that they are asking the institutions and Ombudsman Siniša Bjeković, "what do Montenegrin citizens pay him for, considering that with his continuous selective attitude towards the violation of human and civil rights, due to his inaction, he rightly raises suspicions of unscrupulous work in the service. The Center for Civil Rights will carefully monitor the actions of the Basic State Prosecutor's Office in this case, as well as the results of the investigation by the Council for Civil Control of Police Work, which has already opened the 'Gorica' case."
"We expect responsibility, transparency and an immediate reaction from institutions," said the CGP.
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