Journalists need a suitable environment that will allow them to work safely and without fear of harassment, political pressure, censorship or persecution, and the European Commission will carefully monitor the development of events in Montenegro, the EC said.
They reminded that freedom of expression and media is one of the basic values of the EU and a key element of the accession process of Montenegro.
"As previously stated, we do not comment on individual cases. However, any violation of the law should be dealt with by competent domestic authorities, in accordance with national legislation and relevant international and European standards", answered the EC to the questions of "Vijesti" regarding the arrests of Dražen Živković, the journalist and editor-in-chief of the Borba and IN4S portals. and Gojko Raičević on suspicion of having committed criminal acts of causing panic and disorder.
They remind that the EC report on Montenegro for 2019 states that no progress has been made in the field of freedom of expression and that there are persistent challenges in understanding the role of free media.
"We will continue to carefully monitor developments in the context of accession negotiations. As a general principle, we expect all media houses in Montenegro to act in accordance with the highest professional and ethical standards", said the EC.
Media analysts, representatives of the media, NGO sector and the opposition assessed that arresting journalists in a democratic society is inappropriate and against the international standard of freedom of expression, and the police are the last to react to a possible violation of professional standards in journalism.
Last night, the Basic State Prosecutor's Office in Podgorica rejected the allegations that they were putting pressure on the media, stating that "in every proceeding, they are guided by their jurisdiction prescribed by law." They state that in the coming period, "regardless of profession or function, they will prosecute any person, if it is determined that his actions have been the essential elements of a criminal offense."
Živković and Raičević were arrested on Sunday evening, and they were released yesterday to defend themselves after being questioned at the Basic State Prosecutor's Office (ODT) in Podgorica. Basic state prosecutor Biljana Medenica decided that there are no grounds for ordering them to be detained by prosecutors. In the further proceedings, Medenica will determine whether the actions of the accused have grounds for the criminal offense of causing panic and disorder, which they are charged with.
The Police Administration announced that Živković and Raičević committed this criminal offense by, as is suspected, causing panic in the public by publishing false news regarding the event in Villa "Gorica" in Podgorica, without previously verified information. The police denied that it was an explosion in the villa, but that it was a minor electrical fault that was quickly repaired.
This is the second case of the arrest of a journalist since the beginning of this year. Former editor and journalist of FOS media Anđela Đikanović was arrested on January 5 for the criminal offense of causing panic and disorder, a few hours after she published the article "FOS learns: ROSU members available to Montenegro for Christmas Day". The Government and the Police Directorate denied those allegations. Đikanović was released from custody on January 6.
Media analyst and longtime journalist Dragoljub Duško Vuković told "Vijesta" that there are many other institutions that should stand up for the truth and quality information in those cases.
“Criminal charges can be filed and proceedings can be initiated without arrest. Handcuffing someone who is not resisting and willing to talk is insane. It is not a message of 'have better journalists, have better media' but 'we are the bad guys'. We cannot defend bad journalism where it exists, but I think this is the worst possible way to fight against bad journalism," said Vuković.
He believes that the qualification of causing panic and disorder is taken lightly, and many things can be understood by that.
"If we were to analyze what the institutions of the system are doing, and put it in this prism, we could find a lot in the official data, which can cause serious public concern, not to mention panic and disorder," he said. Vuković.
He believes that if society wants to fight lies in the media, then it must be seen what the institutions of the system are doing for good information, recalling the attempt to create a new law on free access to information according to which everything can be declared a secret.
"If you want to show the desire for society to democratize, to have normal communication within itself, you cannot do it this way, and on the other hand close all the institutions of the system," said Vuković.
He believes that the current context and the current political and social situation inspires the government to react in this way, because in some more normal situations "some worse things are not sanctioned at all, and not in this way".
"Now, the media and journalists should be more careful, taking into account the entire context and situation, that information can now be misused. We created a system, and that's why journalists and the media community are not to blame, in which it is very important how many clicks some information has, then through those clicks you get possibly some kind of support through marketing. If you force the media community to behave like any capitalist enterprise, profit and money will be in the foreground, not the quality of journalism," warned Vuković.
"Monitor" journalist Zoran Radulović tells "Vijesti" that it is not easy to classify Živković and Raičević as journalists, since they are not, by the essence of their engagement, but workers in the propaganda industry.
"The fact is, however, that both of them were taken into custody for allegedly spreading fake news causing panic and disorder. The number one question is: Who appreciates it? The prosecution that failed to convict Kalić and Šarić? Why Slavoljub Stijepović and Slobodan Kašćelan don't disturb the public?" Radulović states.
The next question, he adds, is "on what basis?" because the country where one of the "most disgraceful" editors of "Pobjeda" became the head of the Government Bureau for Public Relations, the state, while taxpayers pay for his inactions - has no right to arrest anyone on the basis of journalistic (non) work.
"Who says that the writings of FOS, Borbe or In4S are incorrect? The government? Police Department? The prosecution? If the truth of the testimony was the only criterion, all of them would already be in prison," says Radulović.
He adds that the Government, the prosecution, or whoever is doing it on their behalf is thinking ahead - "they started with the 'neutral' FOS, continued with the unprofessional Borba and IN4S, so that tomorrow they would have the right to arrest/detain anyone who does not serve them undisputed".
"Panic and disorder are the essence of the regime here, and not a feature of the few professional media that continue to search for the truth, trying to respond to the task of protecting the public interest," Radulović assessed.
The editor-in-chief of Monitor Esad Kočan told "Vijesti" that the police can also start arresting people on the street "because they don't like the color of their eyes, the way they walk and the like".
Raičević said after the hearing at the ODT that his arrest was a "conspiracy" between the police, the prosecution and the judiciary, which, he claims, was "coordinated by the American embassy". He also claims that he checked the information about the explosion with two sources and that they treated it cautiously on the IN4S portal.
Živković did not want to make a statement yesterday, explaining that he would talk about it in the coming days.
Their legal representative - lawyer Vladan Bojić said that there are no elements of a criminal offense with his clients, because the panic must be real and visible, which was not the case here. "There is no material evidence that the fact that the news that there was an explosion in Villa 'Gorica' was published caused panic among anyone," explained Bojić.
Raičević claimed that the arrest was a consequence of the questions he sent to the Government regarding the arrest of Đikanović and the passing of the Law on Freedom of Religion and that he knew "that he would be next" after the arrest of Đikanović.
In front of the building of the Basic State Prosecutor's Office, Raičević and Živković, in addition to their families, were supported by a number of opposition MPs, members and sympathizers.
MANS assessed that the Prosecutor's Office, which is under the political control of the authorities and which has shown that it has neither the will nor the capacity to investigate numerous attacks on journalists, threatens to become the striking fist of the regime in its confrontation with dissidents.
The Center for Civic Education (CGO) points out that there are self-regulatory and regulatory mechanisms for violating professional standards, while such a restrictive approach can be subject to abuse and represents a threat not to fake news, but to freedom of expression.
The Ministry of Culture told "Vijesta" that the Government and the Ministry cannot comment on the decisions of the bodies responsible for law enforcement, and the final decision on this matter will be made by the competent court.
"The Ministry of Culture can speak from the point of view of media freedom, the need for due journalistic attention, as well as the normative environment for the realization of media freedom. We want to point out that in a democratic society, journalists must respect high standards of journalistic ethics and self-regulation, i.e. the right of citizens to objective and accurate information, by which we want to say that every freedom, including freedom of the media, is not only a right but also a responsibility in a democratic society", they stated. from the Ministry.
Last night, the DPS supported the state authorities in opposing "a type of special war waged by certain centers, through persons who hide behind journalist ID cards, with the ultimate goal of destabilizing the state of Montenegro, spreading panic and endangering the safety of citizens."
The DF assessed that the arrests of their caucus and independent journalists point to Milo Đukanović's decision to put the legal order out of force.
The URA civil movement says that if the police administration really wants to arrest someone for public lying or spreading fake news, let them arrest Ivan Brajović "for lying in court and claiming that the highway will be finished by May 2019", Milo Đukanović "for the promised 40 thousands of jobs or Srđan Kusovac and Bebo Popović "because of the ocean of lies, spins and subterfuge".
The Democrats said that the government led by the party headed by "the last European dictator shows by the arrests of journalists in the 21st century that it is not kidding in its intention to turn the wheel of history back a few decades to the time of the most rigid totalitarian regimes."
In the United Montenegro, they assessed that this is an attempt to discipline the media which, without censorship, daily bear witness to the dissatisfaction of tens and hundreds of thousands of people throughout Montenegro.
The SNP reminds that "Duško Jovanović gave his life on the altar of freedom and democracy, and the murderers and masterminds have not yet been brought to justice", a journalist from "Vijesti" was shot at, journalists were beaten, economically oppressed and threatened at every step , if they would dare to write critically about some scourges of Montenegrin society.
The Workers' Party said that murders, injuries and intimidation of journalists have been the harsh reality of Montenegro for decades.
From the SDP, they "draw the attention of the competent authorities to be guided in their actions by the need to not question the values of freedom of expression and thereby exceed the limits of their powers".
"Let Jurova and Junker get ready for arrest"
Fidelity consulting ironically commented that former EC President Jean-Claude Juncker and Commissioner Vera Jurova should now be prepared for arrest for causing panic about the poorer quality of food products in the new EU member states compared to the old member states. "The highest officials of the EC gave official statements that the quality of products in the EU is uneven, which is not true if we are to believe our institutions", announced "Fidelity" on Facebook, recalling the statement of the director of the Directorate for Food Safety, Veterinary and Phytosanitary Affairs, Vesna Daković that the products on the Montenegrin market are not of lower quality than the European ones.
HRA: The Criminal Code does not define fake news
Human Rights Action (HRA) warned that the imprisonment of journalists for publishing content that does not incite violence, that does not constitute hate speech and does not deny the Holocaust and similar crimes is against the international standard of freedom of expression
"The criminal offense of "causing panic and disorder" from Art. is particularly problematic. 398 of the Criminal Code, which prescribes a prison sentence of up to three years for journalists and all those who "through the media or other means of public information or similar means or at a public meeting" present or convey "false news or claims" and thus cause "panic, or more serious disruption of public order or peace, or thwarts or more significantly hinders the implementation of decisions and measures of state bodies or organizations that exercise public powers", the HRA stated. They add that the Criminal Code does not define what is considered "fake news", nor what is considered to cause panic, nor does it contain circumstances that can justify such action, all of which can easily lead to a violation of freedom of expression, i.e. interpretation that is contrary to Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights and the practice of the European Court of Human Rights, i.e. Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the practice of the UN Human Rights Committee.
The European Commissioner recognized the unethical nature of the current government official
In June 2013, in Brussels, former European Commissioner for Enlargement Štefan File showed an example of unprofessionalism and unethicality in the media when he displayed a text from the "Pobjede" portal on a large video wall under the title "File denied tabloid 'Vijesti'".
"This morning I spoke about the need to work on making journalism progress towards professionalism and ethics. This is proof that I was right when I said that work must be done on these issues," File said.
Then, in the text "The only one left" by the then director of "Vijesti" Željko Ivanović, the then editor-in-chief of "Pobjeda" Srđan Kusovac recognized European Commissioner Štefan File as the source of the claim that, after reviewing the documentation, he was sure that the candidate had won the presidential elections in Montenegro. of the opposition, Miodrag Lekić. File characterized Kusovč's approach as an example of journalistic unethicality, which is insisted on in the "Vijesti" report, while Kusovč's text accuses File of being behind "the tabloid 'Vijesti'". In the same year, Kusovac was elected head of the Government Bureau for Public Relations.
Inadmissible arrest, introduction to state censorship
The international organization Reporters Without Borders (RSF) announced that they are concerned about the arrest of journalists for the second time in a few days.
The Center for Investigative Journalism of Montenegro (CIN-CG) assessed that these arrests, even when it is determined that they are untruths and violations of the ethical code of journalists, are inadmissible and designed to limit human rights and freedoms and create a sense of legal insecurities.
The Association of Professional Journalists of Montenegro (DPNCG) condemned the arrest of the journalists and expressed concern about the creation of a climate in which journalists and the media work, i.e. denial of freedom of expression. "Society does not support the reporting of the media whose editors were arrested, but we strongly protest the political confrontation of the authorities with those media and their editors. Arresting journalists creates an atmosphere of fear, censorship and self-censorship in which every piece of our information can be judged as having the intention of causing panic, without the police and the prosecution having any evidence of that," said the statement of the DPNCG.
The media union sent an open letter to acting Supreme State Prosecutor Ivica Stanković and director of the Police Directorate Veselin Veljović, in which they stated that it is unacceptable to declare any information that they do not like or that is denied as fake news and arrest them for it.
The President of the Commission for Investigating Attacks on Journalists, Nikola Marković, states that the Prosecutor's Office is introducing a dangerous practice of depriving journalists of their freedom and claiming the right to be the regulator of media content. "Whatever you think about someone's way of reporting, the deprivation of freedom due to journalistic texts is absolutely reprehensible. This opens up space for everyone to be arrested tomorrow for a publicly expressed position or opinion," Marković pointed out.
The Media Association of Southeast Europe (MAJE) states that this is a worrying practice that is unknown in democratic countries. "Prosecutor-police repression against journalists is inadmissible and is a prelude to state censorship of the media," MAJE said.
The edia center said that the consequence of this action by the prosecution will be an increase in self-censorship and covert censorship in the media.
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