The Human Rights Action is expressing concern regarding the practice of unnecessarily asking people to come to the police or the state prosecutor’s office in order to provide statements concerning the obviously unfounded criminal reports filed by Marko Kovačević, president of the municipality of Nikšić, for whom unfounded reporting of political critics to the police represents quite common behaviour.

All the persons against whom reports were filed were using freedom of expression to comment on the highly provocative and controversial views of the Nikšić municipality president. Their opinions about Kovačević’s views were clearly not a threat that could endanger anyone’s safety, and it is therefore unclear why the police, that is, the state prosecutor’s office felt the need to subject them to questioning just to establish the above fact.

If it was the state prosecutor that gave the order to do this, then the police was obliged to act; however, if that was indeed the case, we believe that the prosecutor made an error in judgment. If this practice continues, the police and the prosecutor’s office will become complicit in suppressing all critical thought by subjecting to interrogations anyone who expresses any sort of criticism in public – it will be enough for someone just to file a report! If such unfounded reports are encouraged in this way, both the police and the state prosecutor’s office can expect to be flooded with reports filed by irresponsible politicians whenever they want to put pressure on those who criticise their work. This is something that can suit only those who would rather suppress human rights than criminal acts.

Kovačević reported 13 people: Srdjan Kosović (director of digital development of “Vijesti”), Biljana Matijašević (journalist of “Vijesti”), Damir Suljević (attorney at the NGO Centre for Civic Education), Balša Knežević (journalist of the portal “Aktuelno”), Zoran Ćoćo Bećirović (allegedly the editor of portal “Aktuelno”), Draško Djuranović (editor in chief of “Pobjeda”), Nikola Zirojević (people’s deputy from SD), Boris Muratović (member of Municipal Assembly of Nikšić), Sonja Milatović (member of Municipal Assembly of Nikšić), Aleksandra Vuković Kuč (people’s deputy from DPS), Ivan Vuković (people’s deputy from DP), Petar Odžić (SDP’s spokesperson) and Nikola Djurašković (president of the municipality of Cetinje).

In the following texts, they commented, or made it possible to comment, on the Kovačević’s controversial public actions:

• “Suljević: Kovačević’s new outburst should be a reason for his dismissal”portal Vijesti, 8 March 2024
• “Neo-Chetnik provocateur has outdone himself this time: ‘The building of the Zeta Banovina suits Mandić very well, and it was to be expected that the Krauts wouldn’t like it’”, portal Aktuelno, 7 March 2024
• “SCANDALOUS: Shameful comment of the president of the municipality of Nikšić regarding today’s events at the Assembly session”,portal Pobjeda, 7 March 2024
• “Yesterday, on Facebook, president of the municipality of Nikšić wrote that ‘the building of the Zeta Banovina suits the Speaker of the National Assembly of Montenegro very well’ and that ‘it was to be expected that the Krauts wouldn’t like it’ – The Supreme State Prosecutor’s Office will investigate, to establish whether Kovačević’s post contains elements of a criminal act“, portal Pobjeda, 8 March 2024
• “He could end up fixing his watch strap in prison”, portal Vijesti, 6 July 2023