PODGORICA, 01.07.2026 – The Supreme State Prosecutor’s Office should examine the legality of the actions taken and determine responsibility for the failures of all competent officials from the courts, the prosecution service and the police who participated in the investigation into the murder of journalist Duško Jovanović, according to the Report on the Work of the Commission for Monitoring the Actions of Competent Authorities in Investigations into Cases of Threats and Violence against Journalists, Murders of Journalists and Attacks on Media Property, published on 29 June 2026.
The recommendations also state that the Supreme State Prosecutor’s Office should regularly and proactively inform the Commission about all actions undertaken in this case. They further call for a review of the position that the prosecution service cannot provide the Commission with case files because such disclosure is not envisaged by the Criminal Procedure Code, which specifies to whom files may be submitted.
It was noted that, in the investigation into the murder of Duško Jovanović, editor-in-chief of the daily newspaper Dan, the state prosecutors handling the case had continuously undertaken investigative actions since taking over the case on 26 April 2023. However, based on its discussions with the prosecutors, the Commission was unable to assess whether the investigation had been efficient and effective.
“Although the Commission was presented with a general overview of the course of the investigation to date, and in light of the position of the Supreme State Prosecutor’s Office that the Commission is not entitled to inspect case files in proceedings concerning attacks on journalists, the Commission concludes, on the basis of the prosecution service’s statement regarding its actions in the case opened following the murder of Duško Jovanović and its discussions with the prosecutors handling the case, Danka Ivanović Đerić and Ana Radović, that it is unable to assess whether the investigation has been efficient and effective. Neither in their written statement nor during their discussions with the Commission did the prosecutors provide specific answers as to whether all the recommendations issued by the Commission in this case had been implemented. Nor were they able to discuss the specific findings or results of the investigation to date, or predict whether the investigation would be successfully concluded, namely whether all perpetrators, organisers and those who ordered the murder would be identified,” the Report covering the period from 12 December 2025 to 20 May 2026 states.
Since mid-2024, 28 witnesses have been questioned, measures have been undertaken to catalogue and identify seized items deposited in the court archives, SKY communications have been partially reviewed, and international legal assistance has been requested in order to obtain information related to the case.
On 16 October 2025 the Government of Montenegro adopted a decision establishing the Commission for Monitoring the Actions of Competent Authorities in Investigations into Cases of Threats and Violence against Journalists, Murders of Journalists and Attacks on Media Property. The Commission consists of media representatives and journalists, representatives of the Ministry of the Interior, the Police Directorate, the Association of Professional Journalists of Montenegro, the Media Council for Self-Regulation, the Trade Union of Media of Montenegro, the National Security Agency, the Supreme State Prosecutor’s Office and the Basic State Prosecutor’s Office, as well as representatives of the NGO sector and lawyers.