Towards a new edition of the report „Prosecution of attacks on journalists in Montenegro“, the NGO Human Rights Action (HRA) published the chapter „Threats and attacks against journalist of the daily Vijesti Olivera Lakić“, whose summary is available here.

An excerpt from the summary reads: ”In conclusion, the courts have failed to see all these procedures in the context that deserved to be taken into consideration with utmost concern – that the journalist Olivera Lakić had been the victim of continuous threats and even physical assault with the intention of intimidating and discouraging her to continue her research into the illegal production and smuggling of cigarettes in Montenegro – a business that former and current public officials at the Police Directorate and NSA are most likely linked to, according to unconvincing response of all competent state authorities for the case of assault on the journalist. For threats and attack on journalist Lakić only two persons, who are not influential and against whom the evidence was fairly apparent, received light sentences, while it has been ensured that the investigation does not reach the organizer of the attack.”

Previously, on the occasion of commemoration of the 12^th anniversary of the unsolved murder of director and chief editor of the newspaper Dan Duško Jovanović, HRA published the  report “Unsolved murder of Duško Jovanović – questions without answers”.

The aim of the report is to encourage a comprehensive review of previous investigations of these cases, for which we consider that it necessary.

In the coming report on prosecution of attacks on journalists in Montenegro, HRA will provide to the public a comprehensive review of the prosecution of attacks on journalists and conclusions on whether the country is ready and to what extent to punish responsible for these attacks.

The Open Society Foundations’ institutional support grant to HRA provided for production of all mentioned reports.

We hope that this effort will assist efficient operation of the newly formed state bodies to review investigation of attacks against journalists: the Commission for Monitoring Actions of Competent Authorities in Investigation of Cases of Threats and Violence Against Journalists, Murders of Journalists and Attacks on Media Property in which NGOs have a representative, lawyer Dalibor Tomović, as well as the Parliamentary Committee on Monitoring the Investigation of Cases of Endangering Security of Journalists and Media Outlets, which members are MPs.