Montenegro Rejects Calls for Jailed Reporter's Release

The government in Podgorica has rejected criticism from international rights and media watchdogs which accused the authorities of violating investigative journalist Jovo Martinovic's rights by holding him in pre-trial detention for 11 months.

Responding to a letter sent to Montenegrin Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic by Human Rights Watch, the Committee to Protect Journalists and Reporters Without Borders, the government said the indictment against Martinovic was raised and confirmed "on the basis of evidence" that was obtained legally.

On Monday, the three watchdog groups called on the Montenegrin authorities to immediately release Martinovic and provide his lawyer with all evidence against him. 

Martinovic has been held in pre-trial detention on dubious drug-trafficking charges for 11 months and a trial date has not been set. 

"The lengthy pre-trial detention and the prosecution's failure to present credible evidence against him violate his rights to liberty and due process and undermine Montenegro's claim to respect press freedom," the three groups said in their letter. 

The letter also said that if the prosecutor persists with the charges, the trial should meet international standards, including those set out in the European Convention on Human Rights, to which Montenegro is party.

The government response, signed by Srdjan Kusovac, an adviser to the prime minister, said that it was "strange" that the letter was addressed to Djukanovic.

"The prime minister, as the head of the executive branch, does not have, cannot have, and should not have any competency or influence over another branch of government," Kusovac said. 

Kusovac also said that the Special Prosecutor's Office had acted within a reasonable time and in...