Civil society organisations active in the field of media freedom welcome the decision of the High Court in Podgorica, which upheld the ruling of the Basic Court and thereby brought the criminal proceedings to a final conclusion against the President of the RTCG Council and several Council members for abuse of office in connection with the reappointment of Boris Raonić as Director General of the Radio and Television of Montenegro (RTCG) in June 2023.
Our organisations had timely warned the members of the RTCG Council about the consequences of their decisions, and this ruling confirms that the law applies equally to holders of public office. We recall that Veselin Drljević, Filip Lazović, Amina Murić, and Naod Zorić have been convicted by a final and binding court judgment.
Although Boris Raonić was not a party to these criminal proceedings, there is no dispute that the case directly concerns the decision through which he was reappointed to the position he continues to hold today. It is therefore legitimate to ask whether RTCG can continue to operate as though nothing has happened after it has been conclusively established that the previous decision on the appointment of its Director General was adopted through an abuse of office committed by the majority of Council members who participated in that process.
In democratic societies, situations of this kind are not viewed solely through the lens of formal legal responsibility, but also through that of institutional credibility and public trust. It would therefore be appropriate for Boris Raonić to resign as an act of responsibility towards the institution, both out of respect for the institution whose reputation has been further damaged by this judicial outcome and for those who are now bearing the consequences of an unlawful decision from which he personally benefited.
Particularly concerning is the fact that some RTCG Council members who have now been finally convicted continued to perform their duties after the unlawful reappointment process in 2023, participating in numerous decisions of importance to the functioning of the public broadcaster. We therefore call on the RTCG Council to urgently initiate procedures for the dismissal of the Council members who have been convicted by a final court ruling, given their unwillingness to assume responsibility themselves. We also call on the Parliament of Montenegro to remove them from office without delay. Their continued presence in office – and, in the case of Veselin Drljević, participation in the current appointment process – would further undermine confidence in both the institution and a procedure that has already been seriously compromised.
We also call on members of the parliamentary majority to return the procedure for the appointment of RTCG Council members to the Administrative Committee and to thoroughly establish all relevant facts concerning the candidacies under consideration. In particular, Veselin Drljević should be excluded from the process, as there are now clear legal grounds for doing so. In this regard, we welcome the announcement by the Democrats that they will not support Drljević in the plenary vote and expect other parties forming the governing majority to take the same position.
Following the final conviction of four RTCG Council members, we expect the Basic State Prosecutor’s Office to initiate proceedings against Raonić for the criminal offence of incitement to commit a criminal act, based on the complaint filed by the Media Center in June 2023. Only decisive action by the prosecution and the courts can prevent similar attempts to capture public institutions in the future.
This final court judgment must not become yet another judicial outcome without institutional consequences. If it is not followed by concrete action on the part of RTCG, the Parliament of Montenegro, and other competent authorities, the message sent will be that accountability for unlawful conduct in public institutions remains selective and subject to political convenience.
Daliborka Uljarević, Centre for Civic Education (CCE)
Olivera Nikolić, Montenegrin Media Institute
Milka Tadić Mijović, Center for Investigative Journalism of Montenegro (CIN-CG)
Goran Đurović, Media Center