Attacks will not go away anymore – journalists respond to reports

Attacks and threats against journalists in Montenegro are not stopping, they are just changing form. While official police data shows that eight cases were reported from the beginning of the year to mid-March, interlocutors warn that the real picture may be more complex, as some incidents remain unreported or are kept in other databases.

According to data from the Police Directorate, perpetrators were identified in four cases and arrested for violations against public order, while in three cases prosecutors assessed that there were elements of criminal offenses.

"In one case, it is a criminal offense of endangering security and officers of the Crime Prevention Sector are taking measures and actions within their jurisdiction, in cooperation with the competent prosecutor's office, in order to identify an unknown person or several of them. In the second case, the acting prosecutor stated that it is a criminal offense of sexual harassment based on a private complaint. Another person has also been identified against whom the prosecutor's office has filed a request to initiate misdemeanor proceedings. In the third case, the perpetrator has been identified, and further police and prosecutorial measures and actions are being taken with the aim of locating him and further processing him," the police said.

One case is still in the investigation phase.

During 2025, 29 attacks and threats against journalists were registered, while the regional network Safejournalist recorded as many as 33 cases. In the first two and a half months of this year alone, according to their data, six threats were recorded.

Journalist and president of the Working Group for the Safety of Journalists, Predrag Nikolić, says that such trends have been a cause for concern for years.

"The data is worrying year after year. Last year, we had eight attacks in the same period. We can only hope that this year will be calmer for the media," says Nikolić.

He warns, however, that the number of attacks does not always tell the whole truth.

"The number of attacks is consistently high and is constantly growing. A large number of threats now come from the online sphere. It is progress that an increasing number of journalists are reporting threats and they should certainly continue to do so because no matter how "harmless" the threats may seem, they are unacceptable," he points out.

It is precisely this shift, or rather the willingness to report, that many see as the only bright spot in the gloomy statistics. Previously, numerous incidents remained in the silence of newsrooms, without an institutional epilogue. Today, however, threats increasingly come from the digital space.

"Most of the harassment and threats are online. Social networks have opened up a space for everyone to express their opinions, but some go a step further, using threats and hate speech to reinforce their stance. The problem arises when digital threats spill over into real life. Attacks on journalists like Ana Raičković, Boris Pejović and Stevo Vasiljević show that the line between virtual and real violence almost no longer exists," explains Nikolić.

However, he claims, certain developments are being noticed in the institutions.

"Institutions, the police and the prosecutor's office, have improved their handling of attacks on media workers in recent years. Omissions are now much less frequent than in the past. However, the fact remains that the local system is still not able to resolve the drastic cases of attacks on journalists from previous decades," says Nikolić.

To provide additional protection for journalists, a new support mechanism was recently established. In the first week of operation, free legal and psychological assistance was offered in cases of threats, which some journalists took advantage of.

Since mid-March, a toll-free hotline for reporting assaults has also been available, another attempt to break the practice of silence.

"The interdepartmental working group for establishing a mechanism for the safety of journalists began its work on March 4. Already in the first week, after we received notifications about threats from members of the police and prosecutor's office, we offered free legal and psychological assistance in six cases of threats. Two journalists used the offered legal assistance, and one journalist also used psychological assistance. In addition, we had one more request for legal assistance, as well as one consultation, in relation to attacks that occurred in the previous period," says Nikolić.

However, despite new tools and a somewhat better response from institutions, the core problems remain the same — the poor economic position of journalists, weak prevention, and lack of solidarity within the profession.

And while the number of reports is slowly increasing, one question remains open: are journalists really safer today or are they just more vocal than before?

Media Institute of Montenegro

This text was made with the financial support of the National Endowment for Democracy. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and publishers of the Media Institute of Montenegro and does not necessarily reflect the views of the donors.