Even 22 years after the murder of the founder and editor-in-chief of the daily newspaper “Dan,” Duško Jovanović, it has not been established who the direct perpetrator of the crime is, who all participated in it, and who ordered it. No one has been held responsible for the fact that the investigation has not yielded expected results for decades. The four most recent governments, including three “reform” ones, have not engaged a foreign expert to reexamine the investigation. Why does every government avoid confronting the findings that an independent expert analysis could lead to? Whose interests are being protected and why?!

Clarifying the murder of Duško Jovanović is of crucial and general importance for the rule of law, confidence in the judiciary, protection of the right to life, as well as for the protection of investigative journalism and freedom of expression in Montenegro.

CONTEXT

The attack was carried out on May 27, 2004. To date, only one “co-perpetrator,” Damir Mandić, has been prosecuted and convicted—someone who was found to be in the car from which shots were fired at Jovanović, but not that he was the one who shot. Mandić refused to cooperate in the investigation.

Before the murder, Jovanović published a series of articles about cigarette smuggling, accusing the highest representatives of the government at the time, which consisted of the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS). At the time of the murder, the editorial policy of “Dan” was extremely critical of the leaders of the ruling government. The Human Rights Action has warned for years that gaps in the investigation and the failure to clarify this murder point to its political background.

WHAT WAS EXPECTED AND WHAT HAPPENED

After the DPS government’s departure from power (August 2020), it was expected that this murder would be a priority to clarify. However, the opposite happened.

No government has engaged a foreign expert to clarify the murder, despite a clear request from the Commission for Monitoring Investigations into Attacks on Journalists from 2017.

Four governments led by Duško Marković, Zdravko Krivokapić, Dritan Abazović, and Milojko Spajić have ignored this request.

WHOSE INTERESTS ARE BEING PROTECTED?

The question that necessarily arises is why every government in this state avoids confronting the findings that an independent expert analysis could bring to light?! Whose interests are being protected and why?!

The government should protect the right to life, which includes the obligation of an effective state investigation into violent death. And that has been lacking in this case.

CONCRETE EXAMPLES OF FAILURES

The car from which Duško Jovanović was killed is key evidence in the case. For years, it was left in an unguarded parking lot of the State Property Administration in Podgorica’s Masline settlement, where it was almost completely destroyed. It remains unknown who ordered its transfer from the police parking lot, although it is one of the most important material pieces of evidence in the investigation. We are convinced that uncovering those responsible for such failures would lead to the perpetrators of the murder.

RESPONSIBILITY ONLY OF CO-PERPETRATOR

Punishing only one co-perpetrator, who did not even shoot at Jovanović, instead of all perpetrators and those who ordered the crime, is insufficient and means mockery of justice. Especially since the motive for Mandić’s participation in the murder has not been established.

OPEN QUESTIONS WITHOUT ANSWERS

The Government Commission for Monitoring Investigations into Attacks on Journalists, in its latest report, has raised numerous questions that have remained unanswered for years:

• The conduct of so-called “black trios”—who gave the orders?;
• Interrogation of persons who may have relevant knowledge, including Duško Marković and Andrija Jovićević;
• Verification of Ljubiša Buha Čumet’s connections with persons from Montenegro;
• Determination of the responsibility of officials involved in the investigation;
• Clarification of the disappearance of police documentation (which contained information about the perpetrators),
• Additional DNA expertise and review of earlier analyses.

More than ten years later, domestic investigative bodies have not provided answers to the key questions from the HRA’s 2016 report “Unsolved Murder of Director and Editor-in-Chief of the Daily Newspaper Dan, Duško Jovanović—Questions Without Answers.” The main recommendation—engage a foreign, independent expert to investigate the attack—continues to be ignored.

STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS FOR CRIMINAL PROSECUTION

The only encouraging thing is that there is still no fear of the statute of limitations for prosecution for murder, because, according to prosecutors, procedural actions are actively being undertaken.

However, this can only make sense if they finally lead to results—not if the prosecution continues to act equally “actively” in this case for the next 22 years.

The relative statute of limitations occurs 25 years from the date of the murder, and its course is interrupted by undertaking procedural actions, while the absolute statute of limitations occurs in 2054.

INSTITUTIONAL VACUUM AGAIN

The Government Commission for Monitoring Investigations into Attacks on Journalists published its latest report on this case for the first half of 2025.

Then came an institutional vacuum due to the expiration of the mandate of the previous term and delays in forming a new one, which was only established in November 2025. The public was left without insight into what was actually happening in the case during that period.

INTERNATIONAL SIGNIFICANCE

International organizations have warned for years that the unsolved murder of Duško Jovanović is one of the greatest obstacles to establishing the rule of law in Montenegro and a serious blemish in the process of European integration. Nevertheless, it seems there is no will in Montenegro to clarify the crime.