In Montenegro, some government officials are involved in corrupt practices with impunity, according to the report of the State Department on the state of human rights in the world in 2019.
"The public viewed corruption in employment based on personal connections or political affiliation as endemic in the government, it is written in the report presented by the Secretary of State of the United States of America (USA) Mike Pompeo.
The report states that impunity in Montenegro is still a problem, as the Montenegrin government did not initiate investigations against officials who violated human rights or punish them for it.
It is also stated that the law foresees criminal penalties for corruption among officials, but the Government did not effectively implement the law, so corruption is still a problem.
"Some government officials are involved in corrupt practices with impunity. The public has seen corruption in employment based on personal connections or political affiliation as endemic in the government and elsewhere in the public sector, both locally and nationally. This is particularly the case in the health sector. , higher education, judiciary, customs, political parties, police, urban planning, construction industry and employment. The Agency for the Prevention of Corruption continued to work, but NGOs and the European Commission state that "challenges related to the Agency's independence, credibility and prioritization have yet to be to be resolved," the State Department report states.
In this report, it is also written that the owner of the Atlas Group, Duško Knežević, was accused in Montenegro of planning to partially avoid paying taxes for several legal entities from the country by using falsified invoices for goods and services to launder money.
It is also stated that Knežević published a series of materials that point to corruption in the government.
"During the year, as reported, Knežević lived in Great Britain, where he was subject to extradition proceedings. Knežević previously had close ties with many officials of the ruling party in the country - DPS. Knežević, for his part, claimed that the accusations were fabricated by the highest government officials close to President Milo Đukanović in order to take over his affairs," the State Department report says.
It also states that significant human rights issues include unresolved attacks on journalists and pressure on the media, including violence or threats of violence, corruption, human trafficking and crimes involving violence against LGBTI persons.
It also says that impunity is still a problem because the government did not investigate or punish officials who violated human rights.
It was also pointed out that the problem is also corruption in the police and inappropriate influence of the Government on the behavior of police officers.
"Impunity is still a problem in the security forces, according to the NGO Action for Human Rights. Non-governmental organizations cited corruption, lack of transparency and the influence of ruling political parties on prosecutors and officials of the Ministry of the Interior as obstacles to greater efficiency. There is no clear mechanism for investigation cases of impunity," the report says.
It is also widely believed that personal connections influenced law enforcement. Low salaries sometimes contribute to corruption and unprofessional behavior of police officers, the report states.
Attacks on journalists have not been covered
The State Department's report also states that at the end of last year, the journalist of the daily "Dan" Vladimir Otašević was attacked for photographing the controversial Montenegrin businessman Zoran Bećirović, who was previously detained by the special prosecutor for questioning in connection with an alleged attempt to intimidate witnesses.
"Bećirović was in the company of senior state prosecutor Miloš Šoškić. The Ombudsman's office, media houses, non-governmental organizations and opposition political parties condemned the attack and called on the authorities to investigate the role of state prosecutor and MUP officer Mladen Mijatović in this incident. The media reported that "more than two-thirds of the 85 attacks on journalists since 2004 have gone unsolved or investigations have not resulted in convictions. Observers also noted that the vast majority of attacks were directed at independent journalists and opposition-leaning journalists and media professionals," the State Department report said.
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