The Media Council for Self-Regulation received a complaint from Stevan Simijanović regarding the manner in which the daily newspaper Pobjeda reported on the criminal proceedings against him.
In the complaint, the applicant states that in the reporting of several Montenegrin media there was a serious violation of the Code of Ethics of the Journalists of Montenegro, pointing out that some media published photos and scans of his personal documents, including his identity card and passport, as well as his unique identification numbers, address and other sensitive personal data. Also, it is stated that sensationalist qualifications such as "fake diplomat", "spy" and "forger" were used in the reporting, and that the manner of reporting was such that, according to the complainant, the presumption of innocence was violated.
As disputed content in relation to the Pobjeda daily newspaper, the complaint states the text "After almost two years, there is no trial or arrest warrant against Stevan Simijanović", published on June 28, 2024.
The complainant points out that in several cases his personal documents and data were shown in full, without any reason that would justify publishing the complete document number, unique citizen’s ID number or address in public. He states that such action was not necessary to inform the public, and that it leads to a direct threat to his safety and the possibility of identity abuse, as well as to additional stigmatization and labeling of him and his family.
The complaint states that several provisions of the Code of Ethics of the Journalists of Montenegro were violated by the said action, including the obligation to respect the privacy, dignity and integrity of the person being reported on, the obligation to respect the truth and avoid sensationalism, the obligation to respect the presumption of innocence, as well as the obligation to avoid unnecessary disclosure of personal data when it is not in the clear and predominant public interest.
Due to all of the above, the complainant requested that the Media Council for Self-Regulation initiate a procedure, investigate whether and to what extent the Code of Ethics of the Journalists of Montenegro was violated, and that after the procedure, it should issue an opinion and publicly state any violations of professional standards, with a recommendation to the media to remove or modify the content in question and to refrain from similar practices in future reporting.
Acting on the complaint, the Media Council for Self-Regulation informed the appellant that it considers complaints exclusively in relation to the media that are its members. The Complaints Commission considered the appeal in relation to the Pobjeda daily newspaper.
The Complaints Commission states that, according to the Article 4 of the Rules of Procedure of the Complaints Commission, appeals can only be considered if they refer to program contents published no more than three months before the date of the appeal. Bearing in mind that the contested text was published in a period longer than three months before the date of filing the appeal, the Commission states that the procedural conditions for considering the appeal have ceased, and that the appeal cannot be considered in the merits part.
Bearing in mind the seriousness of the allegations in the complaint and the fact that it concerns the publication of personal documents and sensitive personal data, the Commission considers it necessary, regardless of the procedural obstacles to merit-based decision-making, to specifically point out the media's obligation to act in accordance with basic professional and ethical standards.
In accordance with its mediating role, the Media Council for Self-Regulation will send a recommendation to the Pobjeda daily newspaper to remove or anonymize the content in which personal data, photos and scans of the complainant's personal documents are published, and to refrain from publishing personal data that is not necessary for the achievement of a clear and predominant public interest in future reporting on criminal proceedings.
The Commission notes that this decision does not consider the merits of the criminal proceedings, nor does it evaluate the allegations of the prosecution or the court, but only considers the method of media reporting and possible compliance with the Code of Ethics of the Journalists of Montenegro.
Komisija za monitoring i žalbe
Aneta Spaić
Sonja Drobac
Danilo Burzan
Branko Vojičić
Ranko Vujović
