Dramatic Increase in Threats, Hate Speech and Intimidation Against Women in Public Life in Montenegro
Author: Predrag Nikolić, CIN CG
Following a statement by Milka Tadić Mijović, President of the Centre for Investigative Journalism, that the head of the Municipality of Pljevlja, Dario Vraneš, embodies “everything that is not civic, freedom-oriented and anti-fascist Montenegro,” Vraneš made a point of confirming that assessment. Misusing verses by Njegoš, he reposted part of Tadić Mijović’s statement on Instagram, accompanied by several emojis, and replied: “Tell me, mother, are you a witch? I am, prince — there’s no use hiding it.”
Numerous reactions followed Vraneš’s insult, notably marked by the absence of condemnation from political parties that form the governing majority together with his party. However, 20 out of 23 women members of Parliament issued a statement strongly condemning the “inappropriate and degrading remarks directed at Milka Tadić Mijović by Vraneš.” The statement was also signed by one of the three MPs from Vraneš’s New Serb Democracy (NSD), Bojana Pićan, as well as by the sole MP of the party’s closest coalition partner, Jelena Kljajević of the Democratic People’s Party.
Representatives of NGOs and civic activists called for the initiation of appropriate proceedings against Vraneš before the competent institutions and urged his coalition partner, Prime Minister Milojko Spajić (Europe Now Movement), to urgently enable the dismissal of the President of the Municipality of Pljevlja.
Vraneš issued an apology addressed to all women, adding that he had not intended to offend. He attempted to justify himself by stating: “I want to underline that my response to Ms Tadić Mijović was exclusively political in nature, not personal.”
Nevertheless, on parts of the online media landscape and on social networks, the most repugnant messages of misogyny and hatred towards the journalist followed.
Acting ex officio, the Protector of Human Rights and Freedoms opened a case regarding the offensive comment, as did the Basic State Prosecutor’s Office (ODT) in Pljevlja.
This represents the 26th case of attacks and threats against journalists out of a total of 28 recorded this year, according to data from the regional SafeJournalists network, which maintains the most comprehensive database of attacks against media workers. A trend observed in previous years continues: of all attacks recorded, as many as 16 were directed at women journalists.
Online attacks and threats against women journalists are the most frequent form, with 13 such cases recorded.
“Women journalists themselves see cyberspace as a major source of threats, unlike real life, where very few people would dare approach you and insult you face to face. We have recorded repeated rape threats, threats of gang rape against groups of women journalists, death threats…,” Marijana Camović-Veličković, Vice-President of the Media Union of Montenegro, told the Centre for Investigative Journalism.
This year, the highest number of threats via social media were directed at Vijesti journalist Jelena Jovanović — who has been under 24-hour police protection due to previous attacks and threats — as well as at Danica Nikolić, editor of the M portal.
On 13 April, Jovanović reported that a woman who identified herself as Milica Ćuk threatened her with death over an article published by Vijesti. During the phone call, she said: “If someone loses their head because of this article, it will be the author’s.” The threats were later repeated by email. The Podgorica police filed criminal charges against Serbian national M.Ć. (36) on suspicion of committing the criminal offence of endangering safety.
On 13 September, Jovanović received an anonymous threatening message from a phone number registered in Bosnia and Herzegovina. She told the police and the prosecution that she did not know who was behind the message, but that it could have been any member of the organised criminal groups she has been reporting on for years.
In October, Jovanović reported that an unknown person published her photograph on a Facebook account called “Niko Kater,” taken without permission from her social media profiles, falsely claiming that she had been arrested. On the same day, she received a series of threatening messages in her inbox, including insults such as “traitors, get lost” and comments based on national origin. The Bijelo Polje police filed criminal charges against M.K. from that town on suspicion of endangering the journalist’s safety.
On 28 February 2025, M portal editor Danica Nikolić received an email containing threats and insults. The Basic State Prosecutor’s Office in Podgorica assessed that the act constituted the criminal offence of endangering safety.
On two occasions this year, Nikolić reported death threats. “Know that I am hunting you until I eliminate you from the list” is among the repertoire of death and rape threats she has been receiving for three years. At a hearing on 1 July, Nikolić stated that since 10 September 2022, when she received the first death threat from the same email address, nothing effective has been done. “Even Interpol has been involved, but after three years the person has not been stopped — on the contrary, the threats are becoming increasingly brutal,” Nikolić said, adding that it feels pointless to continue reporting them.
In September, the Police Administration identified a person suspected of having threatened the editor-in-chief of the M portal continuously since December 2022. Nikolić stated that the suspect is Branko Urošević, an Australian citizen, adding that the police had finally confirmed “what they have known for almost three years.” The Podgorica ODT ordered criminal charges to be filed against Urošević.
“From 2021 to 2024, women journalists in Montenegro experienced various forms of attacks. There were cases of serious physical assaults and threats to life, but by far the most frequent forms of attacks over the past four years have been harassment and other threats, most of them online,” Camović-Veličković told CIN-CG. “Journalists from major media outlets based in the capital, as well as those from smaller communities and local media, have been targeted. During the analysed period, 32 incidents involving women victims were recorded in the SafeJournalists database. The aggregated data show that in the last two years — 2023 and 2024 — violence against women journalists increased compared to attacks against male journalists.”
In its 2024 annual report, the Protector of Human Rights and Freedoms of Montenegro noted, in the chapter on hate speech, that “the largest number of interventions and statements by the Protector concerned offensive speech, hate speech, online threats and intimidation, as well as examples of misogyny and sexism.” On the occasion of 25 November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, the Ombudsman’s Office stressed that “violence against women is not a private matter, but a social problem that must be stopped.” The violent nature of society is further illustrated by data from the Judicial Council, which show that between 1 January and 31 July 2025, courts handled 786 cases of domestic or family violence under Article 220 of the Criminal Code — compared to 446 cases in the same period last year.
The Protector, Siniša Bjeković, also stated that violence against women in the digital sphere represents one of the most widespread forms of violence against women and as such attracts the attention of international human rights bodies. He noted that women in political life in Montenegro are particularly targeted and exposed to this form of violence. He recalled that the institution has been warning about the growing prevalence of this phenomenon for years, but that the situation has unfortunately not improved. Bjeković stressed that the problem lies not in the legislation itself, but in its implementation.
Camović added that, in addition to the Ombudsman, the prosecution has also concluded that women in public life are the most vulnerable to online violence, noting that these are the only two institutions in the country that recognise the problem in this way.
“Both institutions have recorded, over the past several years, an increase in cases of hate speech, misogynistic and sexist language directed at women journalists, with gender standing out as a personal characteristic on the basis of which women journalists have increasingly become targets of discriminatory comments and statements containing elements of hate speech — primarily sexist and misogynistic,” Camović said.
She explained that prosecutors have observed that, in addition to general threats faced by journalists, women journalists are often targeted with threats of a sexual nature, harassment and gender-based humiliation: “Their data show that women journalists frequently become victims of verbal threats and attacks, especially online and on social media. These risks are often heightened when women journalists report on sensitive topics such as corruption, political scandals or organised crime.”
The Association of Professional Journalists of Montenegro recently announced that a rise in gender-based violence against women journalists has been observed in recent years, regardless of the editorial policy of the media outlet. This is confirmed by statistical data and by the fact that three women journalists currently receive physical protection from the Police Administration.
According to the Association, misdemeanour courts are currently handling 11 cases, eight of which involve women journalists. Three final misdemeanour judgments have been delivered in cases involving attacks and threats against journalists, two of which concern women journalists. Data from the Police Administration provided to the Association show that of 17 registered incidents in 2024, 10 involved women journalists, while of 20 incidents recorded in 2025 (as of 20 October), 13 concerned women journalists.
In addition to women journalists, civil society activists and women politicians have also come under attack. Andrijana Vuković, Dragica Sekulić, Vesna Bratić and Draginja Vuksanović-Stanković have all faced severe insults and attacks.
After Danijel Živković, head of the parliamentary group of the opposition Democratic Party of Socialists, threatened Zdenka Popović, Vice-President of Parliament from the ruling Democrats, Silvana Koch-Mehrin, President of Women Political Leaders (WPL), also reacted. “Threats and violence are considered part of the job — as are misogyny and sexism. No. Silence enables them. Instead, when they occur, they must be clearly condemned,” Koch-Mehrin wrote.
Particularly brutal were the attacks against long-time government critic Vanja Ćalović, Executive Director of the Network for the Affirmation of the NGO Sector (MANS). In March this year, a Facebook page promoting the current authorities published a photograph alluding to the smear campaign waged against this civil society activist in the tabloid Informer in 2014.
At the end of the summer, the ruling Democrats accused Tea Gorjanc-Prelević, Executive Director of Action for Human Rights, of attempting to obstruct vetting in the security sector in order to keep in service those “who served the mafia.”
“If it were not dangerous — given that this is a group that controls the security system — it would be merely sad,” Gorjanc-Prelević said. She warned that any vetting process must be conducted impartially, in accordance with the law and evidence, and with respect for the right to defence, “not arbitrarily, according to the will of any ruling political party.” Attacks continued on pro-government portals, which published a discrediting article targeting her husband. “The Democrats have continued their attacks on me by now attacking my family as well,” she said.
At the end of last month, the Association of Professional Journalists launched an initiative to amend the Criminal Code of Montenegro — currently under revision — by introducing provisions that would impose harsher penalties for attacks on women journalists and all women engaged in work of public interest who are targeted because of their professional activities.
“Given the extremely pronounced and dangerous hate speech directed at women MPs, civil society activists and other women in the public sphere, we believe that such cases must be strictly sanctioned in order for the state to truly send a message that it does not tolerate this form of violence,” the Association stated.
Other Online Attacks Against Women Journalists
On 23 April 2025, journalist Ana Raičković reported to the Podgorica Security Department that an article published that day on the Aktuelno portal contained a comment she perceived as a threat to herself and her son. The portal is owned by businessman Zoran Bećirović, who was sentenced in April this year to one year in prison for attacking the same journalist.
On 3 March, Pobjeda journalist Nada Kovačević reported Milovan Gojović to the Police Administration after he posted an insulting comment beneath an article she authored on Facebook, suggesting that she had “taken money” for an interview with a representative of the Montenegrin diaspora and that she was “poisoning the media scene.” Police arrested Gojović the same day, and a hearing was held before the Misdemeanour Court in Podgorica. Gojović pleaded guilty and apologised to the journalist.
On 26 April, City Television host Magdalena Čelanović reported to the police a physician from the Clinical Centre of Montenegro, Vladimir Peruničić, who for days had been sending her insulting, threatening and sexist messages via email and social networks, causing her to fear for her safety.
Television E journalist Itana Kaluđerović received a threatening message on her private Facebook account. Beneath her photograph, in which she is wearing traditional Montenegrin attire, a comment was posted saying: “Watch out — you’re in the crosshairs.”
Almost a month after the incident, Montenegrin police identified and arrested Miodrag Novaković (44) from Kolašin. On 5 September 2025, the Basic State Prosecutor’s Office in Podgorica announced that it had filed an indictment proposal against him for the criminal offence of endangering safety. The trial is scheduled to begin on 20 November 2025.
Administrators of the Facebook page “Autocephalous Montenegrin Orthodox Church” shared a link to the private profile of Raskrinkavanje journalist Nina Đuranović one day after she published an article revealing that the page systematically uses photographs of porn actors to spread disinformation and nationalism. In a sarcastic tone, they falsely presented her as the administrator of their page and invited followers to “freely contact her.” The post was followed by comments of an insulting and sexist nature. The campaign against Đuranović continued on 17 July with another post in which she was photoshopped into a photograph with a significantly older man. The caption read: “My fiancée Nina Đuranović and I are going to become parents. I think a 32-year age difference isn’t that big. What do you think?” The case was not reported to the authorities, according to SafeJournalists.
On 24 July 2025, E TV journalist Vesna Rajković Nenadić received a call from the police asking her to give a statement regarding a complaint filed against her by Danijela Mujović, the wife of the Mayor of Podgorica.
Rajković Nenadić had shared a photograph of Danijela Mujović wearing Dior slippers on Facebook, with the comment: “Poor liberators. Everyone dresses in Kotor. This is one hundred percent fake, as my son would say when he doubts whether something is original.”
Rajković Nenadić was questioned by police on 28 July, after which the prosecution stated that the criminal complaint filed against her contained no elements of a criminal offence. On 30 July, the police also announced that there were no elements of a misdemeanour in the case.
On 6 November, the Bijelo Polje police submitted criminal charges to the local Basic State Prosecutor’s Office against Radojko Filipović on suspicion of committing the criminal offence of endangering safety to the detriment of journalist Alisa Hajdarpašić. The charges state that on 4 November, Filipović threatened via Facebook to attack the journalist’s life and physical integrity. The duty prosecutor ordered Filipović’s detention for up to 72 hours.