NGO Human Rights Action (HRA) strongly condemns incitement to hatred and religious intolerance expressed through recent repeated attacks on the Muslim community in Montenegro by unknown perpetrators. Last week the Islamic community headquarters in Novi Bar (Džemat Novi Bar) have been stoned for three times, and it is particularly concerning that, according to media reports, similar attacks happened in Bijelo Polje and Tivat.

HRA urges the police to persist in finding and identifying the perpetrators of these attacks, and the prosecutor’s office to insist on establishing criminal liability which would imply more severe punishments for these and other hate crimes.

It was determined last year that minors were responsible for hate speech graffiti in schools in Tivat and Donja Lastva. Therefore, we urge schools and parents to condemn such incidents and provide that children timely recognize that such incidents threaten not only the Islamic community, but the democratic state as well in which people of different religious and other beliefs live and where human rights of all should be respected.

HRA team