On April 28, BIRN Montenegro organised a panel discussion titled “Surveillance Measures and Censorship in the Digital Space,” which noted that no verdicts have been reached in cases concerning secret surveillance operations.
Former Prime Minister Dritan Abazovic recalled that court proceedings over unlawful surveillance conducted by the National Security Agency, ANB, in August 2020, have yet to conclude.
“To this day, we have no final court decisions regarding the wiretapping and surveillance activities carried out during the rule of the Democratic Party of Socialists … We exposed cases of unlawful monitoring by the ANB, and we [still] await the judiciary’s results,” Abazovic said.
Ahead of parliamentary elections, in August 2020, the portal Udar was launched, publishing articles aimed at discrediting opposition politicians, civic activists, clergy and journalists, calling them collaborators with foreign intelligence services, traitors and members of organised crime groups.
Authorities have never determined who was behind the portal, although some individuals targeted by Udar have been awarded compensation for violations of their reputation and dignity.
Journalist Petar Komnenic called the indicted former ANB director, Dejan Perunicic, “merely a pawn in the whole affair”. The indictment against Perunicic notes that ANB agents monitored Komnenic.
“These individuals certainly were not working for a private archive. It is essential to establish on whose orders they were operating,” Komnenic said.
Deputy Ombudsperson Mirjana Radovic emphasized that institutional reforms have not been swift enough – but noted that some individuals in the institutions are doing their jobs properly.
“We must find a way to overcome these challenges together, and we can only do so if institutions operate securely, efficiently and transparently,” Radovic said.