We express deep concern over the brutal attack by minors from Podgorica on two other minors — one from Podgorica and one from Sarajevo — which took place on Saturday in Podgorica. According to media reports, the boy from Podgorica was slapped twice, while the boy from Sarajevo sustained serious injuries, including a fractured brow bone and bruises on his body.

We welcome the prompt response by the police and the prosecutor’s office, but we firmly believe that this case must not be treated as an ordinary act of violence. Media reports suggest that the motive for the attack on the boy from Sarajevo was ethnic or religious hatred. Therefore, it is necessary to apply Article 42a of the Criminal Code of Montenegro, which prescribes stricter penalties for hate crimes.

Furthermore, if reports prove true that the attackers’ parents continued with ethnic slurs even after the attack, we expect the prosecutor’s office to investigate their potential responsibility under Article 219 of the Criminal Code for neglect of parental duties.

This attack is not an isolated incident but rather another warning sign of the growing problem of nationalism and hate speech in Montenegro, which threatens peaceful coexistence among citizens and especially affects the development of children.

Montenegro, as a civic society based on the rule of law and human rights, must recognize, name, and sanction violence motivated by hatred. We demand that the prosecutor’s office reconsider the legal classification of this case through the lens of a possible hate motive and inform the public of its actions. Hate-motivated violence is not “childish mischief”—it is a serious criminal offense, and state institutions must respond seriously and in accordance with the law, lest society as a whole bear the heavy cost.