Montenegro Ombudsman asked to investigate ANB employee monitoring claims

Human Rights Action (HRA) has called on Montenegro’s Ombudsman for Human Rights and Freedoms, Sinisa Bjeković, and the chair of the Parliamentary Security and Defense Committee, Nikola Zirojević, to exercise their powers and oversee the Agency for National Security (ANB). The request follows investigative reporting by the Center for Investigative Journalism (CIN‑CG) alleging irregularities in ANB hiring and the systematic monitoring of its staff.

HRA also asked the High State Prosecutor, Milorad Marković, to disclose what actions have been taken regarding a criminal complaint lodged by ANB employees over alleged illegal surveillance. CIN‑CG journalists Andree Perišić and Đurđe Radulović were summoned by police on accusations of publishing secret data, which HRA says amounts to intimidation of journalists and a breach of freedom of expression.

The allegations include: a former Montenegrin army officer employed by ANB who sang Chetnik songs and threatened to burn the national flag; an employee hired without proper security clearance based on a director’s close associate’s recommendation; a close associate of the current ANB director whose brother is reportedly linked to drug trafficking; multiple family members working within the same ANB departments; senior positions occupied by individuals lacking required qualifications; and the use of a special application to illegally track employees. HRA notes that former ANB director Dejan Peruničić and operative Srđa Pavićević were recently sentenced for illegal wiretapping of opposition leaders, prosecutors and journalists.