MFRR partners raise concerns about smear campaign directed at journalists in Montenegro

Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) partners and press and media freedom organisations are deeply concerned by the smear and intimidation campaign undertaken against three journalists in Montenegro.

In mid-August, the online platform UDAR released a list of what it called “collaborators of Serbian secret services,“ which included three journalists, namely: Sinisa Lukovic and Vuk Lajovic of the daily Vijesti, and Drazen Zivkovic of the news site Borba.me. This inclusion is a clear attempt to target the journalists and undermine their reporting on corruption and abuse of power.

The MFRR calls on Montenegrin authorities to investigate the online website and to have the journalists’ names removed from the list immediately. Authorities should also launch an investigation into the activities of Udar to ensure that they uphold the legislation on media transparency.