Montenegro Opposition Leader Urges More Protests Over Religion Law

Knezevic, a fierce critic of the three-decade-long rule of Djukanovic, was one of two Front leaders, along with Andrija Mandic, convicted in the first-instance ruling of involvement in a failed coup in 2016, which the authorities claim originated in Russia. They have appealed their sentences. 

The controversial new law includes a register of all religious buildings and sites that authorities say were owned by the independent kingdom of Montenegro before it became part of the Serb-dominated Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes in 1918, later renamed Yugoslavia.

Under the law, religious communities will have to provide clear evidence of ownership to retain their properties, a provision that the Serbian Church says is designed to allow the government to strip it of its holdings.

Milan Knezevic in Podgorica, Montenegro, 2019. Photo: EPA-EFE/BORIS PEJOVIC

The law was passed last Friday despite fierce objections from the Church, its supporters and pro-Serbian opposition parties who all claim that the legislation will enable the authorities to rob the Church of its property in Montenegro. The government denies intending to target any religious group in particular.

While MPs in parliament debated the law, opposition supporters, Serbian Orthodox priests and members of the public took to the streets to express their anger. Inside the parliament, trying to prevent the vote from taking place, Democratic Front MPs, including Knezevic, rushed at the speaker.

Police then intervened and detained the protesting MPs, after which parliament duly passed the law. Police detained a total of 22 people over the incident, including all 18 Front deputies. Knezevic spent the night in detention and is waiting for a prosecution decision over the...