Police officers found solid evidence that the phone used to threaten the journalist was Jelena Jovanović was in the possession of a person of interest to security Andrija Laković, was reported to "Vijesti" unofficially from several sources.
According to the same information, during that investigation, investigators compared phone numbers from various records or communications to determine who was behind the call or message.
The Basic State Prosecutor's Office (ODT) officially announced yesterday that the Podgorica resident was arrested for threatening the safety of a "Vijesti" journalist.
This, it is alleged, was done on their orders, with the conclusion that Laković committed the crime on September 13, 2025.
The statement did not specify whether the motives for threatening journalist Jovanović last year were known.
The Police Directorate also announced that their officers, together with the ODT, have solved the criminal offense of endangering security committed against the journalist of the Independent Daily "Vijesti" Jelena Jovanović.
"Police officers of the Danilovgrad and Podgorica Security Departments acted upon a report filed by a journalist on September 13, 2025, against an unknown person due to threats sent by SMS from a foreign phone number. Numerous measures and actions were taken: searches were carried out at several locations, operational-tactical measures were carried out and information was collected, after which police officers, while undertaking police-prosecutorial activities, found material evidence and identified as a suspect an operationally interesting person AL from Podgorica, who is directly linked to the commission of this criminal offense," the institution said in a statement.
On September 13th of last year, the journalist reported to the police a threat she received in a phone message from a number in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The message said to consider "who is safer", with the statement that her security was paid for by the state, while the sender "paid for his own".
"You fat guy, the state pays for your security, and I pay for mine. So think about who is safer, me or you, I'm afraid you'll be disappointed, and I see you will. So in any of your next shows, or in your spying, mention the company ***** once again and next time you'll be the one to lose, not my company. So whatever it costs," the message Jovanović received reads.
After receiving the threats, the journalist then stated that she did not believe it came from the construction company from Podgorica that was mentioned in the message.
"It is unlikely that someone would threaten and sign this transparently, that is what I told the police and the prosecutor. The fact that I did not mention the company on the show, which the person who sent the message says is his, supports my thesis - someone wanted the focus of the investigation to be on the ownership structure of that company and the people connected to them, so that he could peacefully carry out what he was threatening," Jovanović told "Vijesti".
She added that she was very satisfied with the way everyone involved in the investigation dealt with this threat.
"The prosecutor's office, secret police and public police, starting with the police officers in Danilovgrad, where I reported the threats, and ending with their colleagues from Bosnia and Herzegovina, really reacted promptly. It was discovered where in Trebinje the cards were purchased, when they were activated, at which base station, who was calling from them... I hope that the only information I received is not correct - that the Podgorica court rejected certain requests from the prosecutor's office, which, in my opinion and in the opinion of my sources, could have narrowed down the circle of suspects and ultimately led the prosecutor and the police to the person who sent the message," said Jovanović.
Jovanović has been the target of threats for years due to her investigative work on organized crime, corruption and controversial businesses in Montenegro. Due to the assessment by security services that her life is in danger, she has had constant police protection for about five years.
Individuals from the court sabotaged the case
Jovanović said yesterday that she was glad if the case was indeed resolved, despite the initial sabotage by individuals from the Podgorica Basic Court.
"It is important for me to remind you that in the first days of the investigation, individuals from the Basic Court in Podgorica assessed that it was more important to sabotage the prosecution and the police, who were already doing their best to solve the case, than to find the culprits. I don't think that was a coincidence," the journalist said yesterday.
The Basic Court in Podgorica then rejected the prosecution's request for an order to provide data on electronic communication traffic, that is, for insight into telephone interactions that could have helped identify the person who had threatened the "Vijesti" journalist.
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