Informer banned again in Montenegro

Council of the Agency for Audiovisual Media Services in Montenegro (SAMU) made a decision to temporarily limit the reception and rebroadcasting of the entire television program Inform.

SAMU made this decision due to the broadcast of the documentary film "Referendum - the story of invented freedom" on this television. The agency also states that this is only one of the contents within the wider body of material broadcast on TV Informer.

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As stated in the announcement, the Council imposed a six-month measure due to a violation of the European Convention, which stipulates that program content must respect human dignity, basic rights and freedoms of others, and must not contain expressions that encourage hate speech, discrimination or intolerance.

Ex officio, the Agency initiated proceedings against broadcasters registered in Montenegro - TV Adria and TV Prva - for broadcasting the same program. In the announcement, they add that this documentary contests the legitimacy of the national identity of Montenegrins and the modern constitutional arrangement of the state.

Earlier proceedings against Informer, Pink and Prva

This is not the first time that SAMU has initiated proceedings against broadcasters in Serbia. In February of this year, the Agency for Audiovisual Media Services in Montenegro initiated proceedings against Informer television, Pink i World precisely because of the broadcasting of programs in which elements of hate speech, denial of national identity and glorification of legally convicted war criminals were present.

Photo: Tanjug / Ana Paunković

SAMU stated at the time that the procedure includes the programs "Special", "Special broadcast", "New Year's Eve", "Christmas Eve", "Christmas Eve", "Celebration of the Serbian New Year" and "Info morning" on TV Informer.

At that time, the agency gave almost identical reasons for initiating proceedings as it does now. Through content analysis, SAMU observed the presence of narratives that threaten dignity, incite hatred, intolerance and discrimination, as well as disparage and devalue members of the Montenegrin nationality, denying their national identity and uniqueness.

Prior to these decisions, the reception and rebroadcasting of broadcasts was temporarily limited in Montenegro Jovan Jeremic on TV Pink "Novo jutro" and "Novo jutro - Morning with soul". Also, in February of this year, the company BH Telekom in Bosnia and Herzegovina informed its users that from April of this year, they will no longer have Pink television channels in their offer.

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