PODGORICA, 08.07.2026 – In June, Trade union of media of Montenegro recorded two new incidents in the SafeJournalists database – both of them in a category “Other threats to journalists”.
On 9 June, Vijesti journalist Jelena Jovanović reported a new wave of threats and insults on social media following her television appearance, during which she reiterated that she would not reveal her confidential sources regarding information obtained from Sky ECC communications. The campaign, initiated by the social media profile “Niko Kater”, accused her of links to a criminal group, labelled her a traitor, and included calls for her to disclose her sources and personal property. Jovanović had previously reported the same individual to the authorities over similar online harassment.
On 17 June, investigative journalists of the Centre for Investigative Journalism of Montenegro (CIN-CG), Andrea Perišić and Đurđa Radulović, learned that the Director of the National Security Agency had filed a criminal complaint against them over an article examining the agency’s recruitment practices. The complaint alleges the disclosure of classified information, an offence punishable by one to eight years in prison. During police questioning, the journalists were also asked to reveal their confidential sources, which they refused to do.
Court Developments
In June, photojournalists Boris Pejović (Vijesti) and Stevo Vasiljević (Pobjeda) appealed the Basic Court in Berane’s acquittal of Danko Femić, who had been charged with coercion following an attack on the two journalists while they were reporting on the removal of a monument to Chetnik commander and convicted war criminal Pavle Đurišić in August 2025. Both appeals argue that the court committed serious procedural violations, misapplied the Criminal Code, and failed to properly assess the evidence, requesting that the judgment be overturned and the case returned for a retrial.
A hearing in a civil lawsuit filed by Vijesti and Monitor journalist Dragana Šćepanović against the company owning the Aktuelno news portal was postponed after the portal’s editor failed to appear before the Basic Court in Kolašin. Šćepanović is seeking damages over a series of articles containing insulting and defamatory statements published after her reporting on the business operations of Ski Resort Kolašin 1450. The hearing was adjourned until 16 September.
On 15 June, the Higher Court upheld the conviction of former RTCG Council Chair Veselin Drljević and three former Council members for abuse of office over the unlawful reappointment of Boris Raonić as Director General of the public broadcaster in 2023. The ruling, which imposes suspended seven-month prison sentences, is now final after the court dismissed appeals by both the prosecution and the defence.
Media Freedom Indicators and Journalists’ Safety Index Findings
TUMM presented the 2025 Media Freedom Indicators and Journalists’ Safety Index, marking the tenth consecutive year of monitoring. Montenegro remained third in the region with a score of 3.14, but continued its downward trend compared with previous years. According to the report, 33 attacks and threats against journalists and media outlets were recorded in 2025, a 40% increase from the previous year, while TUMM has documented 13 new cases during the first half of 2026. The report identifies attacks on journalists, weak implementation of media legislation, poor working conditions and inadequate social dialogue as the main factors behind the decline.