The police must protect the rights of all citizens, not sanction those who defend the public interest, the Center for Civic Education (CCE) announced.
They said that the actions of institutions must be timely, legal and "in the service of state, not party, interests."
This non-governmental organization expressed concern about the initiation of misdemeanor proceedings against citizens who protested in Podgorica regarding the awarding of the July 13th Award, "pointing out the illegality of this procedure", which, as the CCE said, gained additional weight after the Supreme Court's decision in December 2025, which returned the case for re-determination.
It is particularly indicative, the CCE believes, that the proceedings were initiated "as much as five months after the protest", which, as they say, proves the NGO's earlier claim that "this is creating an unacceptable 'balance' due to the actions of the police in Botun", but also "an attempt by the police director to strengthen his position among government actors".
"Such a practice, in accordance with the standards of the European Court of Human Rights, can have the effect of intimidating and discouraging citizens from exercising their right to peaceful assembly (Balçık and others v. Turkey, ECHR, 25/02, 2007). CCE also points out that the effect of intimidation can be intensified if enforcement measures are directed at a well-known public figure or attract widespread media attention (Nemtsov v. Russia, ECHR, 1774/11, 2014), which is what happened in this particular case because among the reported cases are professors, artists and other intellectuals. At the same time, there is a lack of adequate reaction in cases of incidents that truly disrupted public order and spread hatred," the statement reads.
Instead of questioning the proportionality of the police action at the protest, "we are witnessing pressure on citizens who were peacefully expressing their views," said the CCE. Such a message, they said, threatens freedom of assembly and trust in institutions, but also undermines the foundations of the democratic order.
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