Serbia Bars Montenegrin Journalists in Reciprocal Move

On a Monday in early July 2026, Vuk Maras, executive director of BIRN’s Montenegro office, was denied entry at Belgrade’s Nikola Tesla Airport and later deported to Montenegro. The written decision cited a “protective removal measure, a security measure for expelling a foreigner.” The same week, Petar Komnenic, creator of the TV Vijesti program *Nacisto*, was also barred from entering Serbia. Both bans were presented by Serbian authorities as reciprocal actions following Montenegro’s decision to bar Serbian pro-government Informer TV owner-editor Dragan J. Vucicevic.

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Montenegro barred Vucicevic on 26 June 2026 after he labeled Montenegrin state institutions “anti-Serb” and likened them to Croatian World War II-era fascists (Ustasha), accusing him of endangering President Aleksandar Vucic. On 4 July, President Vucic announced that Serbia would respond “reciprocally” to the Montenegrin measure. The subsequent bans on Maras and Komnenic were framed as part of that reciprocal policy.

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Montenegrin Prime Minister Milojko Spajic argued that the journalistic approaches of Komnenic and Vucicevic “cannot be compared,” emphasizing Vucicevic’s “continual insults” toward Montenegro. BIRN condemned the refusal to grant Maras entry as “unacceptable and represents a blow to media freedom.” Serbian officials have not issued a detailed public justification beyond the reciprocal stance articulated by President Vucic.

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The Association of Independent Electronic Media (ANEM), the SafeJournalists Network, and the International Press Institute called on Belgrade to revoke the bans, describing them as violations of journalists’ freedom of movement. ANEM warned that restrictions are permissible only when based on a final court decision consistent with international human-rights standards. Radomir Krackovic, president of the Media Union of Montenegro, warned that journalists “must not be used as bargaining chips in relations between two states.” The SafeJournalists Network asked Serbian authorities to clarify whether similar measures have been applied to other Montenegrin media workers.

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• “protective removal measure, a security measure for expelling a foreigner” — Vuk Maras

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• “The decision of the regime in Serbia to retaliate against those who objectively, professionally and impartially do their job causes even more damage, because it is evident that there is great panic when it comes to anyone who thinks freely,” — Vuk Maras

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• “The Association of Independent Electronic Media (ANEM) condemns any restrictions on the freedom of movement of journalists and citizens in any country, unless based on a final court decision made in accordance with the law and international human rights standards,” — ANEM statement

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• “If the authorities of one country believe that another state has acted improperly towards one of its citizens, the response cannot be to identify a journalist or media worker against whom retaliatory measures will be applied,” — Radomir Krackovic

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• “We call on the European Commission to protect journalists whose freedom of movement is unjustly restricted, preventing them from performing their professional journalistic work, as well as to mediate in establishing conditions that will allow for the unhindered and professional work of journalists in the region,” — ANEM statement

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