Bećirović’s case against MANS finally concluded: SLAPP lawsuits will not stop our investigations

Cases against MANS · 21/09/2026

On 9 July 2026, the Supreme Court of Montenegro dismissed the appeal on points of law lodged by Bećirović and his company, thereby upholding the earlier judgments of the Basic Court and the High Court in Podgorica, which had rejected their claims as unfounded.

The proceedings were initiated in 2019, after MANS published an investigative series concerning the sale of land by the then President of the Supreme Court, Vesna Medenica, to a company linked to Bećirović. MANS raised questions about her failure to declare €139,000 in proceeds from the sale, as well as the nature of the business relationship between the head of Montenegro’s highest court and companies linked to the controversial businessman.

Bećirović and his company sought a total of €58,000 in damages from MANS and the publishers of Vijesti and Dan, on a joint and several liability basis. They also demanded the removal of the disputed statements and articles from the respective websites and the publication of the court judgment at the defendants’ expense.

The courts, however, found that the publications concerned a matter of undeniable public interest, that the public had the right to know about the business dealings and assets of senior public officials, and that MANS and the media had contributed to a legitimate public debate. The Supreme Court specifically highlighted the importance of protecting non-governmental organisations participating in debates on matters of general interest, as well as MANS’s right to express value judgments supported by an adequate factual basis.

From the outset, MANS regarded these proceedings as a SLAPP lawsuit whose underlying purpose went beyond protecting the claimants’ reputations. The lawsuit also sought to create financial and institutional pressure that could deter us from investigating links between capital, political power and the judiciary.

Although these proceedings have now concluded, SLAPP lawsuits continue to be used as a means of targeting civil society organisations, investigative journalists and media outlets that raise matters of public interest.

Proceedings are also pending before the Basic Court in Podgorica following a lawsuit filed against MANS by Miodrag Laković, a former MP from the Europe Now Movement. The lawsuit concerns publications from May 2025 relating to his previous work in the police. MANS believes that these proceedings seek to restrict the legitimate right of civil society to scrutinise the work of former senior police officials and the conduct of the security sector.

At the same time, Prva Banka Crne Gore has initiated proceedings against MANS Deputy Executive Director Dejan Milovac over a statement he made during a television programme concerning the bank’s operations, the use of public funds and the long-standing controversies surrounding that financial institution.

Milovac’s statement relied on publicly available information and previous international investigations, including the OCCRP investigations First Bank – First Family and Unholy Alliances. Based on official documents and findings by regulatory institutions, those investigations examined breaches of banking procedures, loans granted to related parties on preferential terms, weaknesses in internal control systems, the use of public funds and state assistance provided to the bank.

Prva Banka maintains that these statements harmed its standing and business reputation and has sued Milovac personally for non-pecuniary damages. It is particularly concerning that the proceedings were initiated over statements addressing matters of undeniable public interest that have been examined for years in domestic and international investigations, media reports and publicly available documents.

On Thursday, 24 September, the proceedings initiated by Prva Banka will continue before the Basic Court in Podgorica with the first main hearing.

The lawsuit against Milovac forms part of a broader series of proceedings initiated by Prva Banka against civil society representatives, journalists and public officials who have spoken about its operations. This pattern reinforces the need to consider these lawsuits within the broader context of pressure on public debate and attempts to narrow the space for critical scrutiny of powerful private and financial interests.

SLAPP lawsuits generate costs, consume time and keep researchers, media outlets and civil society organisations tied up in court proceedings for years. This is precisely their principal effect: making work in the public interest more expensive and difficult, while making the legitimate questioning of powerful interests increasingly risky.

However, just as Zoran Bećirović’s lawsuit did not stop MANS’s work, these new lawsuits will not prevent us from continuing to investigate corruption, organised crime, the misuse of public funds and links between powerful individuals and state institutions.

MANS