"Vijesti" journalist Dragana Šćepanović She announced yesterday that she suffered mental pain due to constant insults on the "Aktuelno" portal, that her fellow citizens, as well as some family members, began to avoid her, that she was forced to seek professional medical help, but also that she was indirectly told to avoid topics that could bother her. Zoran Ćoć Bećirović.
She announced this at the Podgorica Basic Court, at a hearing against the company "Ski-resort Kolašin - 1450", which is the founder of that media outlet, and which is controlled by Bećirović.
Racketeering, mafia, a brakeman for Kolasin investments, a nervously unstable person - these are just some of the everyday insults published in the media outlet controlled by businessman Bećirović..
Speaking at the Podgorica Basic Court, she said that it all started after she became interested in hyperconstruction in Kolašin as a journalist over the last three or four years and began reporting on it.
"That's when the posts on the 'Aktuelno.me' portal started mentioning my name. Given that Ski-resort Kolašin is one of the largest investors in Kolašin, and given the hyperconstruction in that period, my reporting was related to them. Before publishing each text in the media I work for, I would always contact them (Ski-resort) by email, asking for clarifications - answers, and I published those answers in full. During that period, the defendant filed several complaints with the 'Vijesti' ombudsman regarding my reporting, and only in one case was the complaint upheld, and that was when I wrongly identified the person I interviewed as a member of the current defendant's trade union because that's how the man introduced himself to me," said Šćepanović.
She said that after that she continued to ask journalist questions on the official email of the Kolašin 1450 Ski Resort, when the former president of the Kolašin Municipality contacted her. Marta Šćepanović, informed that Bećirović wanted to talk to her.
"To which I agreed and we had a conversation in the restaurant of the Ski-resort Kolašin. At that moment, texts had already begun to be published sporadically on the portal 'Aktuelno.me' that were not in accordance with the code of ethics, but given that I am a public figure, I felt that I should bear 'that dose of criticism'. After each of my published texts about the 'Ski-resort Kolašin' and the construction in Kolašin, there followed a text from the defendant in which I was belittled and insulted, and it was stated that I was a 'racket-runner', 'part of the media mafia', 'organized criminal group', 'nervously unstable', and most importantly 'the brake on everything that brings good to Kolašin'," she stated.
Šćepanović explained that she was particularly affected by the comments written after those texts.
"I am a single mother, I live in Kolašin and publishing all these articles was very difficult for me. It happened that dozens of citizens approached me on a daily basis and told me that it was not good for me to deal with these topics. I received rumors that the owner of the defendant was threatening me, in the sense that someone resented him. The overall situation created an atmosphere that if a project was not implemented, that I was responsible in the sense of having the power to stop these projects, so for example when an ordinary citizen did not sell his plot of land, for some reason, it happened that fellow citizens approached me and said 'how can you do that?' I would also like to emphasize that through the articles on the 'Aktuelno.me' portal, people with whom I conducted interviews were also belittled," said Šćepanović at the main hearing.
She pointed out that the publication of these texts caused her fear.
"It caused me such a feeling that when I write an article for 'Vijesti', I am uncertain about what awaits me. In fact, I knew what awaited me, I felt fear, I had problems breathing and that has not gone away to this day," said Šćepanović.
All of this, according to her, also influenced the environment in Kolašin to change towards her.
"I felt changes in the behavior of people close to me, but also in my relatives who work for the defendant Bećirović, some people avoided me, only two people wanted to walk with me through the streets of Kolašin during that period. All of this also affected my work because when I would invite someone to give me an interview, people avoided me and said: 'Don't do it, so that this person doesn't smear me on Aktuelno tomorrow'. Considering that Kolašin is a small town, this additionally affects me to feel embarrassed and to avoid situations where I could be asked about the content of the texts and whether it is true. I emphasize that no one from the defendant has ever called me before a text about me was published on the portal 'Aktuelno.me', which is why I said that these were texts that were undefined by the profession. Despite this, I always sent official inquiries by email before publishing the text when I would write a text, to which they mostly did not respond, and twice they only responded with insults. "There was no reference to the specific issue, which I also emphasized in the articles in 'Vijesti'," said Šćepanović.
To a special question from the defendant's attorney, the lawyer Vladimir Đurković - Regarding how citizens were addressing her inappropriately, Šćepanović said that there was a situation where fellow citizens were asking her why she was preventing construction, and that if she continued like this, "these poor people will die of hunger if construction doesn't happen."
Đurković also asked if anyone had ever threatened her, to which she said that fellow citizens had advised her that what happened to her colleague from "Pobjeda" could happen to her.
Bećirović was recently charged, among others, with an attack on a journalist from "Pobjeda". Anu Raickovicand the indictment states that he pulled her by the hair and grabbed her by the neck.
Đurković proposed to the court to reject the claim as unfounded, emphasizing that the lack of medical assistance, therapy, or any medical evidence clearly indicates that the emotional stress, if any, was not serious nor did it affect her physical or mental health....
He also pointed out that the texts that Šćepanović considers "offensive" only represent legitimate criticism.
"The Aktuelno portal is recognized as a bastion of truth and freedom of speech in Montenegro, exposing corrupt networks that hinder the development of the country," said Đurković.
"It happened that dozens of citizens approached me on a daily basis and told me that it was not good for me to deal with these topics. I received rumors that the owner of the defendant was threatening, in the sense that when someone disagreed with him. The overall situation created an atmosphere that if a project was not implemented, I was responsible," said Šćepanović
After the trial, Šćepanović told "Vijesti" that even after the attorney's final presentation, it was clear that the portal Aktuelno.me did not intend to stop the campaign against her.
"In part of that final presentation, because I couldn't follow the whole thing, considering that I felt very bad, almost all the insults against me were repeated, which are also found in the texts to which the lawsuit refers. I was targeted again, they tried again to attribute to me membership in various interest groups and to characterize me as a dishonorable person and journalist. So the defendants' attorney repeated the contents of the texts, thereby showing that they do not understand the basic postulates of freedom of speech, ethical journalism, or human rights at all," said Šćepanović.
Šćepanović said that there were situations where fellow citizens asked her why she was preventing construction and that, if she continued like this, "these poor people would die of hunger if construction was not done."
She emphasized that she will definitely persevere in the court proceedings: "With which, above all, I want to contribute to creating an environment in which, above all, young colleagues could work freely, without pressure and everyday inconveniences and fear."
And psychological help after insults on the portal
Šćepanović said that even at this moment she is afraid of how her statement will be reflected and interpreted on the "Aktuelno.me" portal.
She said that with the help of colleagues from the Society of Professional Journalists, she began to use professional psychological help in order to reduce the feeling of discomfort caused by the articles published about her on the portal run by Bećirović.
She also pointed out that these texts were never signed and that to this day she does not know who the author is.
The Society of Professional Journalists also helped Šćepanović in providing legal assistance.
Bonus video:
