The non-governmental organization (NGO) 35mm announced today that it condemns the initiation of proceedings against the historian Boban Batrićević.
The Higher State Prosecutor's Office (VDT) previously requested that misdemeanor proceedings be initiated against Batrićević due to the views expressed in the column published on the Antene M portal.
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"As an NGO that has been working for 17 years to protect the right of expression, media freedom and actively participates in the creation of the media scene in Montenegro as well as its regulation - we express our outrage at the attack on the freely expressed position, freedom of expression and dignity of the historian Boban Batrićević, in which the prosecutor Šišević participates (state prosecutor Snežana Šišević). As we have always supported the independence of prosecutors and judges through all projects, and especially through the most famous - the Robin Hood TV show, and generally encouraged their work - we very rarely comment on both court verdicts and prosecutors' decisions. This time through the case of Batrićević's text, the right to free speech, the right to expression - the foundation of every democratic society - is threatened to the point of turning into a clerical dictatorship, which is carried out by an authority that should be equal to everyone and, above all, prosecute those who endanger the constitutional order and commit serious crimes," states the press release of NGO 35mm signed by Darko Ivanović, executive director.
He added that in this case they have grounds to talk even about intentional targeting.
"Otherwise, prosecutor Šiševic would have her hands full and would only be dealing with lawsuits for spoken word and spreading hatred (but this time justified) if she had ever visited clerofascist portals whose work is supported by certain municipalities and state enterprises. And that's just the tip iceberg, because neither politicians nor other public officials are lagging behind in this dead race. As we consider this decision scandalous and unprecedented, we request that Šišević urgently withdraw the decision to initiate misdemeanor proceedings against the historian Batrićević due to the text "Torokanje po Methodologija i Đaonikia" in which "criticized the inappropriate attitudes of Metropolitan Joaniki and Bishop Metodije of Budimlja-Nikšić," said the NGO 35mm.
They said it was an attack on basic freedoms, democracy...
"Without going into the legal qualifications, which we are convinced do not stand due to the huge number of judgments of the European Court of Human Rights that defend harsh criticism and encourage public debate, we claim that this procedure is an attack on basic freedoms, democracy and, in general, on everything that constitutes a healthy tissue of our society. At this moment, we must stand behind Batrićević, because precisely his position is a key part of democratic principles - because of the right of all of us to have a strong value judgment, which can also contain a dose of exaggeration and provocation - as long as it is based on facts. Otherwise , if we keep this quiet, we are in the middle of a clerical dictatorship. And the last time we checked, this is a secular state. And we intend to keep it that way," concludes the statement of the NGO 35mm.
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