KOLAŠIN, 10.06. 2026 – A hearing before the Basic Court in Kolašin was postponed today after Balša Knežević, editor of the Aktuelno news portal, failed to appear to testify in a civil lawsuit filed by journalist Dragana Šćepanović against Ski Resort Kolašin 1450, the company that owns the portal.
Šćepanović, an award-winning journalist with Vijesti and Monitor, is seeking compensation for non-pecuniary damage and emotional distress after Aktuelno published a series of articles containing insulting and defamatory statements about her.
Knežević, who had been summoned to testify as a witness, did not attend the hearing due to what defence lawyer Vladimir Đurković described as “family obligations.”
During the hearing, the court reviewed the headlines of 19 disputed articles, which, among other things, described Šćepanović as a “correspondent for the media mafia,” accused her of “extorting the court,” and called her a “liar.”
Đurković acknowledged that the articles had been published but argued that they concerned matters of public interest, including water supply, artificial snowmaking, infrastructure projects, and media coverage of those issues.
He further argued that none of the articles had been published “without cause,” maintaining that each of them was either directly or indirectly prompted by Šćepanović’s reporting.
“The articles fall entirely within the legitimate exercise of the right to freedom of expression,” he said, adding that Šćepanović had “alerted the public” through her reporting for Vijesti and had not published his client’s responses.
Representing Šćepanović, attorney Veselin Radulović argued that the defence had not addressed the evidence relevant to the case but was instead attempting to turn a dispute concerning violations of honour and reputation into a debate on environmental protection.
He stressed that the purpose of the proceedings was to determine whether Šćepanović’s honour, reputation, and dignity had been violated through the use of expressions such as “media mafia” and “mafia tabloid,” which sought to portray her as someone engaged in criminal and unethical conduct.
“Even if it were established that Šćepanović’s reporting contained inaccurate information—which she strongly disputes—that could not justify the publication of factually unfounded insults, defamatory statements, or accusations that she had committed criminal offences,” Radulović said.
He also noted that neither Šćepanović nor the newspaper Vijesti had ever received any request for a correction or right of reply regarding her reporting.
After noting that Knežević, despite having been duly summoned, had failed to appear, the judge adjourned the hearing until 16 September. Defence counsel Đurković was instructed to provide Knežević’s current address if he could not secure his attendance, in order to ensure that he appears at the next hearing.
Back in September 2023, Šćepanović reported to the Kolašin Police Department that she felt threatened because of the articles published by Aktuelno. In her complaint, she stated that the articles had appeared after she reported on the business operations of Ski Resort Kolašin 1450, the company behind the portal, owned by businessman Zoran Bećirović, who was convicted at first instance for the physical assault of journalist Ana Raičević.
Šćepanović also stated that following Aktuelno’s reporting, a petition was launched calling for her to be prevented from reporting further, on the grounds that her work discouraged investors. During that period, local residents repeatedly warned her to avoid covering certain topics.
Šćepanović had already won one private civil lawsuit against Aktuelno on the same grounds in March 2025. The hearing held today concerned a separate lawsuit she filed in December 2025, relating to another series of articles published by the portal.
T.Radulović