The State Remains Silent: Who sent a military helicopter into Vesna Radojević’s yard, who was on board, and for what purpose?

The Director of the Police Administration Police Administration of Montenegro, Lazar Šćepanović, the Minister of Interior Danilo Šaranović, and the Minister of Defence Dragan Krapović continue to remain silent regarding questions about the landing of a military helicopter in the yard of the family home of journalist and editor of the Volim Podgoricu portal, Vesna Radojević, almost eight months ago.

Despite numerous urgencies sent by the journalist and repeated public appeals for the Montenegrin public to be informed about those responsible for this security incident and act of intimidation, the “trio” from the security sector is clearly persisting in its decision not to do so.

Although she reported the incident to the Police Administration as early as 12 June last year, and formally expressed fear for her personal safety due to her investigative journalistic work — supported by strong arguments — Police Director Lazar Šćepanović failed to take a single measure to assess her security situation or to provide protection.

GI “Save Brezna” Sends Letter to Šaranović and Šćepanović: Why Is There Silence About the Intimidation of a Journalist by a Military Helicopter?

After eight months of refusing to undertake any action to identify those responsible or to protect the journalist, there is more than sufficient grounds to suspect that this is not an “oversight,” but a deliberate intention to conceal and protect the perpetrators and/or those who ordered the act.

Thus, the Montenegrin police, led by Director Šćepanović, instead of protecting a journalist and prosecuting the attackers, remain silent in the face of serious security incidents and seemingly hope that the journalist will grow tired of sending urgencies, insisting that the police perform the duties for which they are paid, stop asking questions — or simply “disappear.”

Civil Initiative “Save Brezna” Raises the Alarm

At the end of December, the civil initiative Save Brezna sent an open letter to Šćepanović and Šaranović, stating that they are failing to act on a report concerning threats to the safety of journalist and civic activist Vesna Radojević, despite the existence of evidence, documentation, and repeated urgencies.

Save Brezna sends letter to Šaranović and Šćepanović: Why is the intimidation of a journalist by a military helicopter being covered up?
(VIDEO) Šćepanović again SILENT in Parliament about the military helicopter in a journalist’s yard — Popović steps in to “assist”
Save Brezna: Šćepanović avoided answering questions in Parliament about the intimidation of a journalist by a military helicopter

As stated in the open letter, the case concerns a journalist and representative of the local community who, through her investigative work and civic engagement, has publicly pointed to — and continues to point to — suspected illegal activities, serious procedural irregularities, and violations of human rights and European standards related to major energy projects planned by the state-owned transmission operator Crnogorski elektroprenosni sistem (CGES), the private investor Alcazar Energy Partners (Wind Farm Bijela), as well as other private investors. These projects directly threaten the village of Brezna and the very existence of the entire local community.

EBRD, Procedure Review, and Additional Risk

Police Director Šćepanović did not react or order any risk assessment or protective measures for journalist Radojević, even after additional urgencies and heightened fear arising from new circumstances.

“Furthermore, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has been drawn into these questionable procedures by approving a €28 million loan. Due to serious and documented allegations of inaccuracies and falsification of project documentation, a review and legality assessment procedure is currently ongoing before the EBRD’s independent accountability mechanism (IPAM). This constitutes an additional and heightened risk of retaliation, of which you have also been informed — without any response,” the Civil Initiative Save Brezna stated in its open letter to the heads of the Montenegrin security sector.

They further stressed that institutional inaction in a case involving the safety of a journalist exposing irregularities in energy projects worth tens — and potentially hundreds — of millions of euros cannot be viewed as a mere oversight. In their open letter, they listed concrete illegalities and failures by the Police Administration and expressed serious suspicions that this is a case of organized cover-up.

“This is not merely a struggle of an individual or a local community. This is a test of whether Montenegro is country that belongs to the European family and stands at the doorstep of the European Union (EU) — or a private estate of powerful individuals,” they concluded.

Parliamentary “Assistance”?

Šćepanović, it should be recalled, also failed to answer a parliamentary question about the military helicopter incident in the Montenegrin Parliament, where he was “assisted” by Deputy Speaker Zdenka Popović (Democrats), who “coincidentally” interrupted him at the moment he began to speak, citing a lack of time.

Whether the protection of journalists and women journalists is not important to MP Zdenka Popović — herself a woman and Deputy Speaker of Parliament — or whether she received a signal to “step in” and deprive Šćepanović of the floor at a critical moment, is clearly illustrated by the video recording from the parliamentary session.

Questions to Which No Answers Have Been Provided

At the end of December last year, the editorial board of Volim Podgoricu submitted questions to Police Director Šćepanović, to which no answers have been received to date. The questions are therefore presented to the Montenegrin public, with a note that they will continue to be raised until official and concrete answers are provided by those paid to ensure the safety and protection of journalists and civic activists, and to prosecute those who intimidate and threaten them.

1. Who were the civilian persons aboard the military helicopter that landed in the yard of journalist Vesna Radojević’s family home on 10 June 2025, on what legal basis, and for what purpose?

2. Who authorized the use of a military helicopter for the transport of civilian persons, and for what purpose?

3. Did the Police Administration — as its primary duty and obligation — request and obtain answers to the previous two questions?

4. Why has the Police Administration, for more than seven months, failed to request a security risk assessment from the National Security Agency (ANB), despite a formal report of fear for personal safety supported by evidence?

5. Who decided not to act on the journalist’s report of fear for her safety, who decided to withhold this information, and on the basis of which legal provision, given that this concerns a security risk and clear public interest?

6. How do you comment on the claims by the Civil Initiative Save Brezna that they possess “complete documentation, with all evidence, names, and dates,” stored in a “safe location,” and their warning that you will be personally responsible should anything happen to the journalist or persons close to her?

7. How do you comment on the announcement by the Civil Initiative Save Brezna that, should answers not be provided promptly, they will file a criminal complaint with the Special State Prosecutor’s Office, supported by what they describe as irrefutable material evidence?

M.K. – A.D.