HRA and CŽP: It turns out that the tendency to cover up leaks is dangerous to the lives of citizens

If the failures that contributed to the Cetinje massacre in 2022 had been identified and adequately responded to earlier, perhaps the mass murder in January of this year would not have occurred, or at least there would not have been so many victims, said the Human Rights Action (HRA) and the Women's Rights Center (CŽP).

They spoke out regarding the opinion of the Protector of Human Rights and Freedoms on the violation of the right to life of victims of crimes in Medovina in 2022.

It is devastating, they said, to learn that only in 2025, thanks to the Protector of Human Rights and Freedoms, did the facts about the failures of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Police Directorate regarding the first mass murder in Cetinje in 2022 come to light.

The state, they add, was obliged to protect the right to life much more seriously with adequate and timely preventive measures, and the institution of the Protector responsibly pointed this out.

"It turns out that the tendency of the competent state bodies - the Ministry of Interior, the Police Directorate and the State Prosecutor's Office - to tolerate and cover up the failures of state officials is proven to be dangerous to the lives of citizens, because if the truth had been faced in a timely manner and at least the number of police officers had been increased, perhaps lives could have been saved," the two NGOs said.

The Ombudsman, they explained, emphasized in his opinion that, by failing to provide a sufficient number of police officers and adequately train them for an effective response in emergency situations, such as the one in Medovina 2022, the Police Directorate failed to ensure the right to life of those killed in that massacre.

"Unfortunately, even by January 2025, when a new mass murder occurred, the number of police officers was not increased, and the question is whether anything else was done. Therefore, it is clear that the state violated the right to life of the victims of the 2025 massacre, and in a much more serious way, because by then the Protector had already warned at least twice about the insufficient number of police officers in 2020 and again in 2023."

The big question, they add, is "whether we are safe from the same failures today."

The opinion of the Ombudsman institution confirms that the victims' families had legitimate reasons for protesting all along, that they had the right to demand answers to questions regarding the police's actions, which remained unanswered, say the HRA and the Central Railways.

"The Ombudsman concluded that, due to inadequate action by the competent authorities, the victims' right to life was violated both before and after the murders - the weapon with which he then committed the murders was not seized from the murderer in a timely manner, a sufficient number of police officers were not provided in Cetinje, their equipment did not function, there were delays in recording and responding to citizens' calls, there were delays in engaging a special unit, etc. Despite the fact that the perpetrator had previously been convicted of violent behavior and there were indications that he posed a danger to the environment, the competent institutions did not take effective measures to disarm him or prevent crimes," they said in a statement.

Of particular concern, they said, is the approach of the state prosecutor's office, which "did not even listen to the injured family before dismissing their criminal complaint against the police for negligent performance of their duties." By doing so, the state prosecutor not only acted contrary to international human rights standards, but also "showed himself to be a protector of the police and uninterested in the victim's perspective, contrary to both his mandate and the principle of humanity," the NGOs added.

Instead of a full and transparent investigation, as they said, both the Basic State Prosecutor's Office and the police's internal control concluded that there were no grounds for initiating proceedings against those responsible, which "further deepened the distrust of both the victims' families and the Montenegrin public."

They also recall that HRA and CŽP submitted a petition to the Council for Civilian Control of Police Work on January 24 of this year, but that to this day, seven months later, the Council has not yet published its opinion. The aim of the petition, they explained, was precisely to establish the relevant facts and evaluate the actions of the Police Directorate, in order to improve the protection of the right to life and safety of citizens. They expect the Council for Civilian Control of Police Work to publish an opinion on the actions of the police in the context of the murders in Cetinje on January 1 of this year as soon as possible.

HRA and CŽP again called on Prime Minister Milojko Spajić to "hear the families who suffered the heaviest possible losses" and to respond to their requests, taking into account all experience and knowledge about the circumstances of both events.

They also demand that Spajić inform the public about the results of the measures he announced he would take at the press conference he organized on January 3, especially in relation to the suppression of illegal possession of weapons and amendments to the Law on Weapons, "which were our previous demands."

"We also demand the following: that the competent authorities fully implement the recommendations of the Protector and ensure a new, impartial and effective investigation into all circumstances and omissions related to the crime in Medovina, and that responsibility be established at all levels - from those who enabled the perpetrator to keep the weapon, to those who failed to react in a timely manner on August 12, 2022, but also on January 1, 2025," the statement states.

They also demand that adequate inclusion of representatives of the injured families be ensured in the investigations, "in accordance with international human rights standards"; because "covering up and formalistically closing cases without explanation" would represent "a continuation of violence against the families of the victims and a threat to social trust in institutions."

The two NGOs also demand that urgent temporary confiscation of weapons be provided to any person against whom proceedings are initiated for a violent crime, as well as that the health sector be adequately strengthened to provide support in the area of mental health.

"The crimes in Cetinje must be a turning point in building a responsible and efficient state that protects the lives of all citizens. Until that happens, we insist on truth, accountability, and changes that will prevent something like this from ever happening again," the statement reads.