Online threats to media workers in Montenegro have become an everyday occurrence, and journalists are no longer safe even within the private sphere, said the Media Union (SMCG).
SMCG said they were concerned about a threatening message sent to Television E journalist Itana Kaluđerović on her Facebook account.
"Unfortunately, as we have repeatedly warned, online threats to media workers have become an everyday occurrence, and journalists are no longer safe even within the private sphere, which includes social media accounts," the statement says.
SMCG said they were also concerned about the national dimension of the incident, as the threatening comment was left under a photo taken in Cetinje, showing Kaluđerović in a Montenegrin shirt.
"This context further encourages hatred and polarization, and poses a threat to social peace," said SMCG.
They called on the competent institutions to urgently identify and prosecute the person who made the threat, in order to send a message that the online space is not beyond the reach of the law and that anonymity cannot be a cover for threats, hate speech and violence.
"This is the ninth incident that SMCG has recorded in its database of attacks on journalists, and the fourth that has been reported in the online sphere," the statement said.
SMCG called on media workers to report every incident, in order to create a realistic picture of the scope of the problem and put pressure on institutions to act.
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