Montenegro journalist Kristina Perković receives death threat, media council demands police action

The Media Council for Self‑Regulation (MSS) in Montenegro has called on the Police Directorate and the Basic State Prosecutor’s Office in Podgorica to swiftly identify and prosecute the individual who sent a death threat via Instagram to Standard portal journalist Kristina Perković and her children. The council asks that the act be classified as an endangerment of security rather than a minor offence and urges the police to publicly report on the progress of the investigation.

MSS also requests that the Ministry of the Interior disclose how many of the 33 attacks on journalists recorded in 2025 have been prosecuted and what their outcomes were. The council notes that the threat to Perković follows earlier threats to Standard’s editorial staff, including a 2025 Facebook threat to editor‑in‑chief Jasmina Muminović that was treated only as a misdemeanor. Statistics from the Montenegrin Media Union show 33 attacks on media workers in 2025, 18 of them targeting women, with nine further attacks recorded since early 2026. The EU has recently warned that female journalists face disproportionate online harassment, urging stronger protection measures. MSS stresses that online threats produce the same fear, self‑censorship and risk of escalation as physical attacks and calls for full enforcement of the cooperation agreement on journalist safety.