03. 09. 2007

OSCE MISSION CONDEMNS ASSAULT ON VIJESTI DIRECTOR

PODGORICA, 3 September 2007 - The OSCE Mission to Montenegro today strongly condemned the attack on Zeljko Ivanovic, the director of the local daily newspaper Vijesti, which happened over the weekend.

According to reports, Ivanovic was assaulted on 1 September by three men wielding sticks as he left a restaurant where he was celebrating the paper's tenth anniversary. Vijesti was the first independent newspaper, and is one of the most popular, in Montenegro.

"The OSCE Mission to Montenegro denounces this physical assault on Mr. Ivanovic, and the attack on a representative of an independent media in Montenegro," said Ambassador Paraschiva Badescu, the Head of Mission.

"I call on the authorities to do their utmost to apprehend and prosecute the perpetrators of this act and to prevent similar attacks in the future. We are encouraged by the statements made by Montenegrin officials and civil society in condemning this crime, and commend the Head of the Police Directorate Veselin Veljovic's rapid intervention in the matter."