Podgorica, (MINA) – The intersectoral working group tasked with establishing a mechanism for the safety of journalists has acted in nine cases involving insults and threats against media workers since it began operating on March 4, said member of the Main Board of the Media Trade Union Predrag Nikolic, adding that in five cases they provided legal assistance.

Nikolic recalled that the SOS hotline for reporting threats and attacks on media workers, established within the Intersectoral Working Group, operates 24 hours a day.

“So far, we have not received a single report through the SOS hotline, but since the beginning of our work, through a member from the police and direct contacts with journalists who were threatened, we have had nine cases, out of that number we have provided legal assistance in five cases, and in two cases we have initiated proceedings”, Nikolic told the MINA News Agency.

According to him, considering that the mechanism, as well as the SOS hotline, were only recently launched, it is too early to provide full assessment.

“What is evident is that in the past month, since the mechanism has been functioning, journalists have received information about the possibility of receiving assistance, and in most cases concrete support, from reporting threats to legal aid”, said Nikolic.

Asked about cooperation between the institutions within the Intersectoral Working Group, he said that the cooperation has been very successful so far.

Asked what are the main challenges in the work of the Working Group and what needs to be improved to make the mechanism more effective, Nikolic replied that the work of the group is limited to one year and that by then a sustainable model should be established. 

“That involves resolving the issue of its institutional and financial sustainability, with the participation of both institutions and the media”, added Nikolic.

According to him, many things need to be improved, from prevention within the newsrooms, to detailed monitoring of the actions of the police, the prosecutor’s office, and court rulings in cases involving threats to safety of media workers.