Almost three months after the incident in Orahovica near Bijelo Polje, when the journalist Alisa Hajdarpašić was prevented from reporting, the State Prosecutor's Office has not yet finished the investigation, nor heard all the witnesses, announced the general secretary of the Association of Professional Journalists of Montenegro (DPNCG), Mila Radulović.
She said that this stems from information from the Police Administration and the Basic Prosecutor's Office in Bijelo Polje, submitted to the Council for Citizen Control of Police Work and that association.
Lawyer Veselin Radulović, who was hired by the Association of Professional Journalists as a representative of the journalist, said that "such behavior and passivity in the case of endangering the journalist's safety while performing work is unacceptable."
"This raises suspicions that the competent authorities have no will to shed light on this case and prosecute the responsible persons, and at the same time sends a message that endangering the safety of journalists while performing tasks of public interest is still unpunished in some cases," says the lawyer.
The State Prosecutor's Office, he adds, had more than enough time to take all the actions necessary to make a legal decision, because it is a case where all the important circumstances and actors of the event were known on the same day.
"However, that did not happen, because the old practice of prosecutors from similar investigations (Softić, Stojović, Lakić...) is being repeated that journalists do not know what is happening in the proceedings in which they were harmed. A response was sent to Bijelo Polje, which states that the incident of April 14 in Orahovica is still under investigation," says Mila Radulović.
Regarding the investigation, the journalist Vladan Kovačević, Sakib Čindrak and Mikica Radović were heard, whom she called out for preventing her from doing her job, not allowing her to film the event.
The general secretary of the DPNCG states that they were informed about the actions taken from the response of the head of the Bjelopolje ODT, Vladan Đalović.
"The incident happened when a TV Vijesti correspondent followed the police search in front of the Lazović family house in Orahovica, and after the arrest of the former high-ranking head of the security sector, Zoran Lazović," the announcement reminds. Lazović was arrested on April 14, by order of the Special State Prosecutor's Office (STP). "On that occasion, the correspondent of TV Vijesti, as she said, was harassed and insulted by a group of people - especially Vladan Kovačević and Sakib Čindrak," she points out.
He says that the ODT does not state why the investigation is taking so long, but that from the response of the Police Administration to the Council for Civil Control of Police Work, it can be concluded that, among other things, it is disputed whether it is a misdemeanor or a criminal proceeding.
"In fact, immediately after the incident, after taking a statement from the journalist, the police assessed that it was a misdemeanor. They state that the reason for this is that she allegedly did not present herself with identification, and that Kovačević, Čindrak and Radović denied that they interfered with her. They as it is written in the document, claimed that there was actually 'outrage from the locals and friends of the suspect ZL's family because Hajdarpašić did not introduce herself as a journalist upon arriving at the scene,'" says Mila Radulović.
"The acting plaintiff, 17.04.2024 year, stated that in the mentioned event there are no elements of being a criminal offense, the prosecution of which is undertaken ex officio, and that it is necessary for police officers to assess whether there are elements of a misdemeanor. The case was then submitted to the assistant commander for misdemeanor prevention of OB Bijelo Polje, who called the journalist Hajdarpašić and informed her of the prosecutor's statement, after which Hajdarpašić stated that she wanted to supplement the notifications, i.e. the report she submitted on 14.04.2024/25.04.2024/XNUMX. years. She then, on XNUMX. years. submitted to the assistant commander for PP a supplement to the notification in written form in which she changed the previous statement and stated that at the time of the reported event in Orahovica she had with her the accreditation which was in the cover of her mobile phone. The acting prosecutor was informed about the above, and she stated that the case should be resubmitted to her, on jurisdiction and declassification," according to the UP report, which was signed by the acting director at the time, Aleksandar Radović, and as announced by the general secretary of the DPNCG.
The police report, as she said, adds that the police officers of the Bijelo Polje Police Department then consulted with the prosecuting prosecutor and that "a case was established, in accordance with the instructions of the Supreme State Prosecutor on the conduct of state prosecutors in cases of attacks on journalists and their property."
"The prosecutor also announced in that speech that, although the case has been formed, it has not yet been decided whether the actions of the person have elements of being a criminal offense, the prosecution of which is undertaken by official duty, and that there are still no suspects and that the ODT will continue to undertake all measures and actions within its jurisdiction in order to establish the facts, elucidate the events and possibly prosecute the responsible or suspected persons if it is established that there is a suspicion that they have committed a criminal offense that is being prosecuted in their official capacity. From those consultations, until the moment of the submission of the information by OB Bijelo Polje..., there were no new orders issued by the prosecutor to the officials of OB Bijelo Polje in connection with the mentioned case", it is written in the information of the police, which was delivered to the Council and sent to the journalist for familiarization.
Lawyer Veselin Radulović says that "the competent authorities should finally move from verbal support and readiness to provide full protection and security to journalists, to concrete actions that will send a clear message to all abusers that any threat to the safety of journalists will be adequately sanctioned."
"DPNCG provides legal support to its colleague, which was made possible thanks to the financial support of the European Union, through the EU Delegation in Pogorica, and with the partnership of DPNCG with the NGO UZOR and the German Hans Sejdel Foundation", the announcement reminds.
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