The Montenegrin police are not aware of any illegal mediation in the conclusion of marriages between Montenegrin citizens and Albanian citizens in the last few years.
According to data from most municipalities, there have been 16 marriages between Montenegrin and Albanian citizens in the past two years, however, it is not known whether this was preceded by coercion or exploitation.
"Vijesti" was recently provided with a screenshot from one of the groups on the social network "Facebook", which promotes marriages with Albanian citizens. In the group, which serves for the purchase and exchange of various services and products - from cars to business premises for rent, an ad was circulating in which one of the users "offers" an Albanian woman for marriage.
"Women from Albania for marriage. Right for the house. You can contact us here and we will arrange everything for getting to know each other...", the post read.
After being provided with the screenshot, a "Vijesti" journalist tried to find the post, but it has since disappeared, as has the profile that posted the controversial photo.
The Center for Women's Rights (CŽP) told the editorial staff that public advertisements offering women as commodities "represent a serious alarm for the legal order and human rights."
"Although there have been examples in the media of romanticizing the 'purchase' of women from Albania, I want to emphasize that we have had cases of severe exploitation and violence against these women and that this is a potential form of human trafficking, forced and arranged marriages, which are prohibited by both domestic criminal legislation and international obligations that Montenegro has undertaken," she said. Maja Raičević, executive director of that non-governmental organization.
UP: Not everything is human trafficking
The Montenegrin Police Directorate, in the responses it submitted to the editorial office, stated that no cases of mediation had been reported to them in the previous five years.
They also said that they had no information on whether "anyone has made any illegal material gain on that basis."
As they said, Article 444 of the Criminal Code of Montenegro assesses human trafficking "exclusively on the basis of the specific facts and circumstances of each individual case."
"This implies the existence of elements such as coercion, threat, deception, abuse of position or difficult situation, as well as the existence of the intention to exploit. The mere conclusion of a marriage, without the aforementioned elements and without the existence of exploitation, cannot automatically be considered human trafficking. If in the future we receive specific reports or information indicating possible illegal actions in this area, they will, in cooperation with the competent prosecutor's office, be thoroughly checked and processed in accordance with the law," they said.
Women are not objects.
Executive Director of the Women's Rights Center Maja Raičević emphasizes that "public advertisements offering women, mostly from Albania, as commodities represent a serious alarm for the protection of women from violence and exploitation."
"According to the Criminal Code of Montenegro, the criminal offenses of human trafficking, recruitment for exploitation, as well as facilitating or mediating in forced relationships, also include situations in which marriage is used as a means of control, exploitation or deprivation of freedom of a woman. The Istanbul Convention, which Montenegro has ratified, also explicitly obliges the state to prevent and sanction forced marriages, as well as all forms of violence against women that arise from unequal power relations," she said.
She recalled that the convention clearly recognizes that marriage "can be an instrument of violence, control and exploitation."
"Especially when there is economic, linguistic or migration dependence on one side. Women are not objects but rights holders and it is unacceptable to tolerate such phenomena. State authorities, primarily the police and prosecutors, have an obligation to react, investigate the background of such advertisements and prosecute all those involved in illegal activities."
Most marriages concluded in Ulcinj
According to data from 15 municipalities, in the past two years, 16 marriages have been concluded between citizens of Montenegro and citizens of Albania.
"Vijesti" sent questions to all municipalities in Montenegro, but no response was received from ten.
The most marriages with Albanian citizens, according to data provided to "Vijesti" by municipalities, were concluded in the municipality of Ulcinj - nine.
"In 2024, two marriages were concluded between Montenegrin citizens and Albanian citizens. One marriage between a Montenegrin citizen and a citizen from Albania. Three marriages were concluded between Montenegrin citizens and Albanian citizens, as well as three marriages between Montenegrin citizens and Albanian citizens," they replied.
The municipalities of Kolašin, Žabljak, Rožaje and Andrijevica said that during 2024 and 2025, there were no marriages with Albanian citizens.
According to available data, marriages with Albanian citizens have not been concluded in Plav, Plužine, Berane, Herceg Novi and Cetinje.
In Danilovgrad, there have been no marriages between Montenegrin and Albanian citizens in the past two years, but, they point out, there is a noticeable "growth trend" in marriages with foreigners.
"In 2024, within the Danilovgrad Municipality Registry Office, eight marriages with foreign citizens were concluded, among other things. The growing trend of marriages with foreign citizens continued last year. Thus, 11 marriages with foreign citizens were concluded last year. However, there were no marriages with Albanian citizens in the territory of our municipality in the past two years," they said.
According to data provided by the Podgorica Secretariat for Local Self-Government and Cooperation with Civil Society, there were no marriages with Albanian citizens in the capital last year.
"While in 2024, two marriages were concluded. The first was concluded in June between a Montenegrin citizen and an Albanian citizen. The second in July between an Albanian citizen and an Albanian citizen."
In Nikšić, no new marriages were concluded between Montenegrin and Albanian citizens last year, while in November 2024 there was one such union.
The Bar registry office told "Vijesti" that in May 2024, a marriage was concluded between an Albanian citizen and a Montenegrin citizen:
"However, this Albanian citizen has resided in Montenegro since 1995. There were no marriages concluded in other registry offices during the aforementioned period."
There was one such marriage in the Tivat municipality, and two in Zeta - one two years ago, and the other last year.
Deceived grooms
In 2017, "Vijesti" wrote about several men from northern Montenegro who claimed to have been cheated. It also cited the example of a man from a village in Rožaje who paid 2.500 euros for a girl from the Shkodra area, but never saw the bride.
There are reports of several aggrieved men from northern Montenegro who entered the "procedure" through an intermediary, but were left without money and without the promised bride from Albania.
A man from the Andrijevica area claims that he gave 10.000 euros, but that he has not yet married.
"People have cheated me. I have traveled to Albania at least eight times. Now it seems to me that this is an established chain of fraud in which both our people and Albanians participate. They are making money from other people's troubles, God punish them," said this Andrijev resident.
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