President and Vice President of the Trade Union of Media of Montenegro (TUMM), Radomir Kračković and Marijana Camović Veličković, filed a lawsuit today before the Basic Court in Podgorica against Vladimir Otašević, Executive Director of the local public broadcaster RTV Podgorica.
The lawsuit was filed for violation of personal rights due to false statements that Otašević made during the summer in his public responses. According to the plaintiffs, the lawsuit was filed in their personal capacity, not on behalf of the TUMM.
On June 18, 2025, the portal gradski.me published an article titled “Otašević: Kračković and Camović Asked Me to Keep Quiet About Illegal Fuel Use and Calls for Physical Fights in the Premises of Gradska TV,” which included Otašević’s statement.
According to the lawsuit, that statement contained numerous false, misleading, and tendentious factual claims about the plaintiffs — including accusations that they exerted improper pressure on the court and acted in an anti-union manner by allegedly calling for the dismissal of media employees.
Otašević repeatedly made untrue claims about Kračković and Camović Veličković, particularly asserting that they had “acted against trade union interests” by demanding the dismissal of employees at the local public broadcaster. As active union members, they consider such statements — disseminated through a public media outlet headed by Otašević — to be dangerous and potentially discouraging for current and future members of the Trade Union of Media of Montenegro.
“Our goal is to establish the truth. If we did call for the dismissal of media employees, let that be proven. But if we did not, then the court should impose a fair sanction on the person spreading falsehoods without any fear of consequences. In our public statements, we asked Otašević to provide evidence for his claims, which he never did — instead, he continued spreading falsehoods. That’s precisely why we filed this lawsuit. Both of us are public figures, aware of our roles and responsibilities, and we are open to criticism — but not to lies,” said Kračković.
The lawsuit also cites a part of Otašević’s statement in which he wrote that:
“Leaders of the Trade Union of Media should not use their positions to demand, without valid grounds, the dismissal of media employees — including executive directors — who are not close to their employers. At the same time, they seek protection for employees who insult and call for physical confrontations with their colleagues at work, while also illegally using fuel at the expense of Montenegro’s citizens.”
The plaintiffs argue that this statement is part of a broader pattern of false claims that Otašević has made against them.
“To fully understand the context of Otašević’s response, it is important to note that it follows a series of media articles — including one published on gradski.me under the title: ‘Members of Gradska RTV’s Union Don’t Want Kračković and Camović at the Next Meeting Due to Anti-Union Behavior’ — in which the plaintiffs were described as ‘union representatives who, in the past, sought harsh disciplinary measures (termination of employment) for the editor and journalist of Gradska RTV, Dejan Bogojević and Radomir Tešanović,’” the lawsuit states, adding that “these factual claims published on June 18, 2025, are false, tendentious, and untrue.”
The lawsuit further emphasizes that, as a public official, Otašević must be aware of the weight of his words and prepared to substantiate every claim he makes.
The complaint does not include the public broadcaster RTV Podgorica itself, but only Otašević personally, as the author of the statements published through that outlet.