Human Rights Action (HRA) accepts with regret the decision of the Basic State Prosecutor’s Office in Kolašin to suspend further investigation of the incident of breaking glass on the vehicle of daily Dnevne novine journalist, Zorica Bulatović. Basic State Prosecutor has suspended the investigation because the crime was qualified as Destroying or Damaging Property of Another Person that is prosecuted by private lawsuit, so the private plaintiff Zorica Bulatović is expected to conduct the investigation and prosecute independently.

However, last year in an almost identical case of burning a vehicle of a police officer, the Basic State Prosecutor’s Office in Podgorica decided to qualify the offence as Endangering Safety in concurrence with criminal offence Destroying or Damaging Property of Another Person, for which the trial is in progress.

The decision of the prosecution to opt in this case for a qualification that transfers the responsibility for the investigation and detection of the perpetrator to the journalist contributes to an atmosphere of impunity for attacks on journalists in Montenegro. In this context, particularly concerning is the fact that the journalist stated several times that she feared for her safety because she had published an article pointing to violations of the law by private companies and civil servants.

This case shows that it would be justified to introduce new criminal offenses that would allow the journalists to receive enhanced protection in the exercise of their profession because journalistic profession is of particular public interest in a democratic society, and its members are obviously exposed to increased risk. Proposed amendments to the Criminal Code could provide and that the attacks on the property of journalists are investigated and prosecuted ex officio, awareness of the importance of the journalistic profession would be additionally expressed, and severe penalties could contribute to the deterrence of potential perpetrators of such attacks in the future.

Since 2010, HRA has been advocating for amendments to the Criminal Code that would oblige the state bodies, the prosecution in the first place, to act in practice in accordance with the assumption of greater social danger posed by attacks on journalists. HRA proposed prescribing new criminal offenses that would enhance the protection of journalists in performing their professional tasks: “Obstructing journalists in performing their professional duties” and “Assaulting journalists in performing their professional duties” and amending existing criminal offense of Aggravated murder and Serious bodily injury that would be prosecuted ex officio.

HRA persists in urging the relevant authorities to undertake all necessary activities for bringing perpetrators and masterminds of unpunished attacks on journalists to justice. HRA expects the Commission for monitoring investigations of attacks on journalists to point to those who obstructed the investigation and allowed impunity.

HRA team