Human Rights Action (HRA) received with concern the statement of Mr. Kemal Čanović (Social Democratic Party – SDP delegate at the congress held yesterday) that he considers daily Dan to be Montenegrin Charlie Hebdo spreading Islamophobia. Comparison of any media to Charlie Hebdo whose editorial board was the scene of a horrific terrorist attack, especially of daily Dan, whose editor in chief was a victim of a murder unresolved to date is at least inappropriate, and raises concerns and reaction because it can be interpreted as a threat.

HRA reminds that the Parisian weekly Charlie Hebdo got into the focus of world public following the massacre in which, as a revenge for caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed published by the magazine, 12 people were killed – members of the editorial office and a policeman in front of the building where the editorial office is located. This terrible crime can be justified by nothing.

According to available information, the daily Dan announced that the two sons of Mr. Čanović were on the battlefield in Syria, which in the case of one son turned out not to be true, so Čanović was so irritated that he made a comparison between daily Dan and Charlie Hebdo in a context that can be understood as a justification for violence against journalists. However, the participation of Montenegrin citizens in foreign wars is certainly a topic of public interest on which the media have the right to report, especially since participation in foreign armed formations was prescribed as a criminal offense in March this year.

Even if the media are wrong, there are appropriate ways to inform the public or to sue for damage imposed without making inflammatory statements that could be interpreted as a justification, advocacy or incitement to violence against journalists.

HRA team