After the publication of a part of the indictment wherewith the Basic Prosecution Office in Prishtina charges the singer Asdren Gjikolli, also known as Gjiko, the latter has sued for defamation the “Front Online” portal journalists, the editor-in-chief Lavdim Hamidi and director Enis Veliu, asking also for a security measure against their Facebook posts related to their reporting on FrontOnline.

Gjiko motioned the Basic Court of Prishtina to order Hamid and Veliu to delete the posts and requested compensation of 5,100 Euro from each of them. The lawsuits were prepared by the “Kërveshi & Partners” law firm.

AJK considers that the lawsuits and requests for interim measures contain elements of Strategic Lawsuits against Public Participation (SLAPP), lawsuits that are not intended to be won before the court but to intimidate the media and divert attention from the charges against the singer Gjiko.

Suspicions of rape of a minor by a well-known public figure are a topic of public interest and the media have an obligation to inform the public when such allegations are made by the prosecution office. Also, journalists, media, civil society, and citizens have the right to publicly discuss these allegations because they are a topic of public interest.

Using lawsuits for defamation as a strategy to prevent anyone from discussing this topic is a futile attempt that will prove unsuccessful.

We believe that the Basic Court in Prishtina will deal with these lawsuits in a professional manner and in accordance with the standards of the European Court of Human Rights.

PODGORICA, 05.04.2022 – The lawsuit of businessman Zoran Becirovic and his company from Cyprus, seeking almost 60,000 euros from daily Vijesti and Dan and the NGO MANS for defamation, was rejected by the Basic Court in Podgorica.

The same decision rejected the request to publish the verdict and remove the announcements published on the “Vijesti” and “Dan” portals.

Zoran Becirovic and his company from Cyprus have initiated proceedings before the Basic Court against MANS, the publisher of the daily newspapers “Daily Press” and “Jumedia Mont”, for publishing articles on the portals of these media, revealing financial transactions between his offshore company and then President of the Supreme Court Vesna Medenica. Medenica allegedly sold the land in Kolasin to Becirovic for close to 139,000 euros.

“The first-instance decision of this court rejected the claims of Becirović and his company for compensation of non-pecuniary damage in the total amount of 58,000 euros, as well as publishing this verdict and removing the articles from the defendants’ portal as unfounded. The plaintiffs are obliged to pay the defendants the costs of the proceedings in the total amount of 14,270.44 euros, “said Judge Spokeswoman Ivana Becic.

The Association of Journalists of Kosovo was concerned to receive the news of the threat against the journalist, Diamant Bajra.

In the announcement addressed to AJK, it is reported that Bajra received threatening messages after his last show where he discussed the circulation of counterfeit money.

“Following the show “Counterfeiting endangering Kosovo” broadcasted on “Kanal10” television, Bajra published “TikTok” profile an excerpt from the show, wherein he received a threatening message from a fake profile highlighting – “Don’t you think some mf comes firing at you an automatic weapon without anyone knowing about it”. Kosovo Police was informed of this issue and has already opened an investigation case qualified as a threat against a journalist”, it is reported by Gazeta Blic.

AJK condemns this attack and calls on law enforcement authorities to prioritize this case so that the perpetrators of this action are brought before justice, and journalists are enabled to exercise their profession without any obstructions.

Luan Dalipi – Chief of Staff of Prime Minister Kurti, through a Facebook post today unprecedentedly attacked Kosovo’s media by linking them to “criminal businesses”, and calling on those he distinguishes as “dignified citizens” to boycott them.

AJK considers that such a public call by Prime Minister Kurti’s closest ally in the Government is very dangerous, and an open call for denigrating language towards journalists.

Mr. Dalipi’s language is a continuation of the attacks coming from the parliamentary majority in Kosovo, which directly endangers the safety of journalists and aggravates the climate of doing journalism in the country.

PODGORICA, 17.03.2022 – The bad socio-economic position of media workers was found for the first time in the official Government document in the draft Media Strategy for the period from 2022 to 2026, which was recently put up for public discussion.

This is the first strategic document that deals in more detail with the issue of media freedoms and the situation in the Montenegrin media.

In the analysis of the situation, the proposer refers to the research of the Trade Union of Media of Montenegro (SMCG), which for years indicates that the position of media employees is extremely bad and that in addition to incomes below the national average it is characterized by unregulated overtime and work during the holidays, pressures, self-censorship and it was stated that the situation worsened during the crisis caused by corona pandemic.

“All this leads to the abandonment of the profession by a large number of journalists. Lack of employees leads to overburdening of journalists to meet the obligation of daily work and publish a large number of texts/articles every day, which ultimately affects the quality of journalism and almost shut down investigative efforts in newsrooms”, reads the document, which is on the public discussion until April 20.

The proposer encourages a new start to collective bargaining for the media industry, which was discontinued in 2019, and media employees do not currently have such protection.

The strategy introduces freelancers to the media system of Montenegro for the first time, noting their unregulated status, but does not envisage measures to resolve it.

The Strategy pays special attention to the issue of protection of the safety of journalists, introducing measures to control the work of state bodies who investigates the attacks. Also, one of the measures is the long-announced specialization of teams in the police and the prosecutor’s office that would deal with attacks on journalists.

The strategy further obliges media owners to protect journalists from interference in their work and all kinds of pressures, guarantee them healthy and safe working conditions, invest in their skills and knowledge, and promote the implementation of the Code of Ethics and professionalism in journalism.

In addition to increasing the amount for the Fund for Encouraging Pluralism and Media Diversity from the current 0.09 percent of the current budget to 0.4 percent by the end of the implementation of the Strategy, the SMCG proposed an obligation for employers not to lay off workers six months before the competition. At the same time, the strategy recognized the importance of monitoring the impact of financial support to the media on improving the socio-economic status of employees, in the monitoring of which SMCG will actively participate.

The strategy also envisages an amendment to the Law on Media, which would imply the obligation of the media to adopt a statute that will regulate the relationship between the owner and the editorial board. Also, the amendments to the law will improve and clarify the procedure for the protection of journalistic sources so that there is no undue pressure from the prosecution or the court.