Does Montenegro choose the European Union or jailing a top journalist?

Gavin.Rea

05 October 2020

No Comments

On 8 October 2020, the verdict in the retrial of the Montenegrin journalist Jovo Martinović will be pronounced. Ahead of the decision, we, the undersigned organisations, call on the High Court of Montenegro to take full account of the overwhelming evidence of the reporter’s innocence and acquit him.

 

Investigative journalist Jovo Martinović has experienced judicial persecution instead of protection ever since he was arrested five years ago, while researching arms trafficking in the Balkans. Denied the right to due process, he spent 15 months in pre-trial detention before the High Court of Montenegro sentenced him to an 18-month prison term for marijuana trafficking and criminal association in January 2019. Concerns of political pressure hang over the verdict, which was eventually quashed by the Appeal Court of Montenegro in October 2019. It concluded that the first-instance court had indeed failed to explain the facts and name the evidence that would justify a conviction of the journalist.

 

A specialist in covering organised crime, Jovo Martinović has worked for such leading international media as The Economist, Financial Times, NPR and the BBC. In 2018, he was given the prestigious Peter Mackler Award for Courageous and Ethical Journalism, which he could not receive in person due to a travel ban related to his trial.

 

We are convinced that Jovo Martinović, who was in contact with criminal networks only for the purpose of his journalistic coverage, is innocent.

 

On 8 October, the same High Court of Montenegro that once convicted the reporter, will now have a chance to acquit. The responsibility resting on the judges is great : a renewed conviction of Martinović would undermine media freedom in the country and as such would be incompatible with Montenegro’s EU accession, for which an independent and pluralist media is a key condition. In the last decade, hardly any other journalist in an EU Member State, candidate country or potential candidate country – with the exception of Turkey – has spent so much time in prison merely for doing his job.

 

We call on the judges to stand for media freedom and human rights in Montenegro and to acquit Jovo Martinović.

Signed:

Reporters Without Borders (RSF)

European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF)

European Federation of Journalists (EFJ)

International Press Institute (IPI)

ARTICLE 19

Center for Investigative Journalism of Montenegro (CIN-CG)

Osservatorio Balcani Caucaso Transeuropa (OBCT)

International Federation of Journalists (IFJ)

Read news by categories:

Related news

Statement

Turkey: Media Freedom organisations call for action as press freedom violations surge in Turkey in 2025

READ MORE
Feature

Ukraine: Media organisations call upon President Zelensky to sign bill allowing journalist access to parliamentary committee sessions

ECPMF urges President Zelensky to sign Draft Law 11321, ensuring greater transparency and access to parliamentary committee sessions for journalists and civil society in Ukraine.

READ MORE
ECPMF

Georgia: Press freedom partners call for release of Mzia Amaglobeli, end to crackdown on free press

Press freedom organisations demand the release of Georgian journalist Mzia Amaglobeli and an end to the crackdown on media. Amaglobeli faces unjust charges and alleged mistreatment.

READ MORE
Feature

EU must not yield in protecting free speech and discriminated groups

Discover why regulating Meta and other BigTech giants is essential to safeguard free speech and protect vulnerable communities in the EU.

READ MORE
ECPMF

Open letter to Mr. Albin Kurti, President of Vetevendosje Movement and Prime Minister of Kosovo

Media freedom groups call on Kosovo’s PM Albin Kurti to reverse his party’s boycott of T7, TV Dukagjini, and Klan Kosova. Public accountability and media freedom must be upheld during elections.

READ MORE
ECPMF

Press freedom groups in solidarity with journalists and media in Georgia

International press freedom groups express solidarity with Georgian journalists amid escalating violence and attacks on independent media during Tbilisi protests.

READ MORE