The Western Balkans Regional Platform for Advocating Media Freedom and Journalists’ Safety, a network of journalists' associations and media trade unions in Western Balkans countries, urged the Montenegrin authorities on September 13 to investigate alleged death threats made by Prime Minister Dusko Markovic’s brother, Velizar Markovic, to a local journalist.

Montenegro has been strongly criticised about the lack of media freedom by various international institutions. In April, the 2017 Press Freedom Index of Reporters Without Borders (RSF) showed that the country made no progress in that direction, ranking 106^th among 180 countries. RSF then noted that journalists in Montenegro have to censor themselves because they are often subject to violent verbal and physical attacks, which remain unpunished.

According to a statement by the Western Balkans union, on the evening of September 12 Velizar Markovic threatened Otasevic over the phone.

“If you will f**k on my back politically trying to understand things, then don’t ask yourself why somebody got killed. Do you get it,” the statement quoted Markovic as saying over the phone.

It added that Markovic also told Otasevic “that he will be found”, allegedly indicating a repeated death threat.

The union claims that the reason for this attack on the journalist who works for the Montenegrin daily Dan was a publication regarding the property of Prime Minister Markovic’s family, and the property of his brother, Velizar Markovic.

Meanwhile, Dusko Markovic called on journalists' organisations not to "mess with his family", claiming that the allegations are part of an election campaign by the opposition Democratic Montenegro party. Montenegro will hold presidential elections next year.

"Do your job as you wish, write, invent, construct, insult the prime minister, but leave my familly alone," Markovic said in a statement.

Montenegro’s Trade Union of Media also called on the authorities to investigate the case, saying that so far this was the most serious threat to a journalist in the country in the past two years.

“The death threat to our colleague Otasevic is the most serious incident that has occurred in the Montenegrin journalist community in almost two years. At the same time, it is also an indicator that the situation has not changed, and that all that is needed is a small incentive for those who feel powerful enough in a country that does not condemn attacks on journalists, to give themselves a freedom to threaten and curse people who are doing their job,” Marijana Camovic, president of the Montenegrin union, was quoted as saying in the statement.

According to data from the Western Balkan union, seven cases of threats against journalists have been recorded in Montenegro this year.

In another case, a local journalist was held in detention for 15 months. Jovo Martinovic, a freelance investigative journalist who has exposed crime networks, war criminals and robberies in the Balkans, developing sources among criminal organisations, was arrested on October 22, 2015 along with 17 others and held without charges for five months. On April 8 last year, he was finally charged with aiding and belonging to a drug trafficking gang. In January 2017, he was been released and allowed to defend himself as a free man in the trial that began in December.