OSCE Condemns Montenegro Tabloid Sex Claims

Mijatovic on Wednesday expressed disgust about the tabloid’s allegations that Calovic, the director of an influential Montenegrin NGO and a prominent government critic, had sexual relations with her two dogs.

"I hope we will hear the condemnation of such journalism, if we can call it journalism. As a person, as a woman, I am appalled," Mijatovic said.

Two weeks ago, the Montenegrin edition of Belgrade-based daily newspaper Informer released a video recording which it said offered “proof that Calovic is an animal abuser”.

Last week, Montenegro's Basic Court temporarily banned distribution of the inflammatory editions of the tabloid.

Mijatovic also said that Montenegro “should do more to bring positive change” after a series of serious physical assaults on journalists working for independent media outlets in the country in the past few months.

“Any attack on journalists is unacceptable. We need to work on resolving them and detecting the perpetrators," she said.

She praised the establishment of the Interior Ministry-led Special Commission for Monitoring Investigations of Cases of Attacks on Journalists, created to investigate incidents like the unsolved killing of Dan editor Dusko Jovanovic in 2004. But she stressed that the commission cannot be a replacement for state action.  

Recent violent incidents include an attack on Lidija Nikcevic, a correspondent for Dan, by masked men wielding baseball bats in January. The assault occurred a week after an explosive device was detonated under the newsroom windows of Vijesti.

Earlier on Wednesday, Mijatovic met with top Montenegrin officials  including Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic and President Filip Vujanovic to discuss media freedom in...