Basic Court in Podgorica passed a judgment dismissing the lawsuit of Zoran Ćoć Bećirović and his Cypriot company “Caldero Trading LTD” against MANS, all because of the article of the MANS Investigative Centre about the affairs between Bećirović and former President of the Supreme Court, Vesna Medenica.
Let us remind that the lawsuit asked the court to order MANS to compensate Bećirović and his company for non-material damage, all due to the published discovery of the sale of land owned by Vesna Medenica to a company ultimately owned by Bećirović’s company from Cyprus, at a price of around 140,000 euros. The discovery of MANS was followed by a series of press releases and a public debate on whether the price at which the land was sold was too high, and whether Vesna Medenica had violated the law by not reporting exceptional income to the Agency for Prevention of Corruption (APC).
Branko Čolović, Bećirović’s lawyer, claimed in the lawsuit that in a series of articles, the defendant MANS stated “a whole array of untruths and insulting expressions that inflict non-material damage due to harm to honour and reputation of the plaintiff.”
In the explanation of the judgement, Judge Simo Rašović confirmed that the investigative story of MANS and the series of press releases that followed were published with the aim of opening a debate of public interest, bearing in mind that it was a transaction of a public official Vesna Medenica.
“In the present case, the facts established during the proceedings undoubtedly indicate to the court that the articles in question and the facts set out in them relating to the secondary plaintiff (Caldero Trading LTD) did not adversely affect its business reputation, i.e. that the plaintiffs did not prove otherwise”, it is stated among other things in the judgement, further explaining that no evidence was provided that the business of Bećirović’s company suffered damage due to the published articles.
In the reasoning of the judgement, the court also refers to the fact that the Constitution and law in Montenegro, as well as generally accepted rules of international law, guarantee freedom of expression and prohibit censorship of the media, and that “freedom of expression includes not only information or ideas that are welcomed or considered harmless or unimportant issues, but also those that insult, shock or harass the state or any part of the population, such as the demands of pluralism, tolerance and openness without which there is no democratic society.”
Finally, judge Rašović stated in the judgement that passing of the lawsuit would interfere with the freedom of expression guaranteed by the court, which would not be in accordance with the law, and added that “it is the constitutional right of citizens to be timely and fully informed on current events such as was this one, i.e. on issues of public interest.”
Dejan Milovac, director of the MANS Investigative Centre, who investigated the property of the former president of the Supreme Court, said that this judgement was important for freedom of speech and that it was an incentive for investigative journalism in Montenegro.
“Bećirović’s lawsuit was aimed at nothing but intimidating not only MANS, but also all the other investigative journalists who dare to investigate possible corruption of public officials and persons related to them. We are pleased that this judgement sends the message that facts and evidence, and proven and professional journalism are still a defence against such intentions.” Milovac added that MANS will continue to investigate corruption and crime in Montenegro, regardless of their actors, as well as obvious pressures from those whose interests are threatened by such investigations.
The decision of the Basic Court in Podgorica is not final, and it can be appealed to the High Court within 15 days from the day of receiving the judgement.
MANS
