WORLD NEWS FOR MONTENEGRO DIASPORA
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AUTHOR:M.J. GDNUS
The Basic Court in Podgorica has ruled that Podgorica Mayor Saša Mujović's claim against former Democratic Party of Socialists spokesperson Miloš Nikolić and that party for defamation was rejected.
As stated in the lawsuit, filed in October last year when he was Minister of Energy and when he was the leader of the PES-Democrats list in the local elections in Podgorica, Mujović claimed that Nikolić, together with other members of the party, launched a maliciously designed campaign against his honor and reputation by claiming that he "belonged to them for twenty years, was their (DPS) voter, sympathizer and member, that he is a liar and a cheater".
For this purpose, the lawsuit states, they forced, and partly forged, a photograph taken on 30.09.2022. in the Verdi-Voco Hotel in Podgorica.
Mujović claimed that on the day the disputed photograph was taken, he responded to an invitation from his colleague from the secondary electrical engineering school and the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Dragica Sekulić, who, as he said, asked him to come to a short consultative meeting regarding development projects and named a few famous people.
Mujović sought payment of non-pecuniary damages for violation of honor and reputation in the amount of 5,000 euros, which the court rejected.
In the explanation of the verdict, the court states that the claim is unfounded, because the disputed allegations and statements by Nikolić did not constitute defamation, but rather part of the political discourse ahead of the local elections in Podgorica.
- The disputed allegations were made within the framework of a political debate and relate to a public figure at the time of performing the functions of a minister and a candidate for mayor. In such a context, the limit of acceptable criticism is wider - the verdict states, among other things.
