Podgorica, 14 Apr - On April 2008, a judgment was rendered by the Higher Court in Podgorica against the independent weekly magazine “Monitor” and one of its journalists, Andrej Nikolaidis. The case had been brought by Emir Kusturica, the world renowned film director. The case relates to an article that was published by Monitor in 2004 which took a critical look at Kusturica’s public stance regarding the events surrounding the Balkan wars in the 1990s and in particular his public support for Slobodan Milosevic.  

Monitor magazine and Nikolaidis were found liable for publication of the article entitled “The Butcher’s Apprentice”. The article critically analyzed Emir Kusturica’s public attitude towards the recent events in the Balkans in which hundreds of thousands were killed and displaced from their homes in Bosnia and Herzegovina alone and for which military and political leaders of Serbia have been tried for war crimes before the Hague Tribunal.   In the article Kusturica is remembered for, among other things, saying that “Milosevic’s main errors were that he thought there were 250 million Serbs and that he didn’t have two nuclear bombs in his pocket” and also that “Serbs targeted Sarajevo in order to give a little scare to Muslims in Sarajevo”.  

According to the verdict of the Higher Court in Podgorica, the Monitor must pay 12.000 euros to Kusturica because it caused him “emotional pain” and “harm to his honor and reputation”. Two years earlier, the lower Court in Podgorica had rejected this same lawsuit, arguing in its decision “that the article is an example of public debate, that the codex of journalism was respected in this article and that, therefore, there is no civil responsibility”.  

The Monitor believes that the Higher Court’s verdict is legally unfounded and that it is a blatant attempt to stifle freedom of expression. The verdict appears to be punishment for the Monitor’s efforts to inform people about the events surrounding the Balkan wars and to encourage them to face the past. In a country such as Montenegro, which, according to reports of the European Commission, the judicial system is still not independent, this verdict will serve to scare the few independent media that exist into silence about issues that the elite would rather not be reminded.  

The Kusturica case is not the only one that threatens to suffocate freedom of the media. At this moment, there are several similar-type lawsuits pending against the Monitor which total more than a couple hundred thousand euros. The Montenegrin daily “Vijesti” is also facing similar lawsuits for “the infliction of emotional pain” that amount to several million euros. The verdict of the Higher Court in the Kusturica case has set a dangerous precedent for these other pending lawsuits.  

“Monitor” and “Vijesti” are leaders in investigative journalism in Montenegro, and, in many cases, those who bring suit against them are representatives of the political and business elite. Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic has filed a lawsuit against the daily “Vijesti” demanding one million euros from the director and the chief editor of Vijesti, Zeljko Ivanovic and Ljubisa Mitrovic. Djukanovic claims that the amount demanded would compensate him for alleged insults that allegedly caused him emotional suffering.   It is a tragic irony that the rare free Montenegrin anti-war media and individuals were not as brutally attacked and discriminated  in the dark 1990’s, as they are today in  Montenegro of Milo Djukanovic, once war partner of Milosevic,  now ally of  EU and USA. 
 

We call on all of you to voice your concern about this unfounded verdict and to speak out publicly in support of an independent media in Montenegro and independent judiciary.    
 

Independent Weekly Monitor Vuka Karadica 11 81000 Podgorica, Montenegro
Phone/Fax +382 81 231 955, +382 81 231 944
Mail: monitor@cg.yu