M portal reported new threats, the media union is asking for a reaction from the authorities

The editor of the M portal, Danica Nikolić, received threats of death and imprisonment via her official email, the media reported.

They state that the message was sent by the same person who, in the country where he resides, was already interrogated for threats from September last year.

They point out that the prosecutor's office has not taken any steps to resolve the case to the end, even though the police identified the person who sent the threats last year.

"This kind of bullying and intimidation of the M portal has been going on for 11 months and is repeated cyclically every time the outgoing Prime Minister Dritan Abazović targets a group of Montenegrin media that does not want to serve to protect his function, and fortunately for us, he includes our portal in that group," they announced. from the M portal.

They point out that all emails, immediately upon arrival, were forwarded to the police. "Although a few months ago, the Basic State Prosecutor's Office replied to the M portal that they were 'taking measures and actions' to solve the case to the end, from there it did not move even a millimeter, because 'Branko' still feels free to repeat his threats of hanging," they added. .

The M portal says that, until the ODT and other competent state institutions "solve this case to the end and protect all journalists equally", they will hold the outgoing prime minister, the outgoing government and the prosecutors responsible for every attack and threat addressed to that media. deal with the case".

Media union: Send a message that threats are unacceptable

The Media Union of Montenegro condemned the threats addressed to the M portal, which "have been going on continuously for almost 11 months, even though they were reported to the competent authorities from the beginning".

"According to the claims of this portal, while the police have identified the person who sent the threats, there is still no adequate reaction from the prosecutor's office. We call on the authorities to take all measures and activities in order to adequately sanction the perpetrator of this specific act, as well as all others, and send a message that such behavior towards the media and their employees is unacceptable," the announcement states.

They indicate that this is the tenth attack registered by the Media Syndicate in the first seven months of this year and that it indicates a growing trend of online threats and harassment of journalists and media companies.

"Online violence against media workers is a very dangerous phenomenon, which allows everyone to express various insults and threats to media employees through social networks, e-mails and comments under texts, usually due to disagreement with editorial policy," they add.

The Media Union says that disagreement with editorial policy should never be the reason for threats, insults and attacks on journalists and media organizations.

The media union of Montenegro registered 28 attacks and threats against journalists and media last year, of which more than a third, i.e. 12, came from the online space, they conclude.