Podgorica, (MINA) – The Higher Misdemeanors Court in Podgorica fined Niksic Mayor Marko Kovacevic EUR 2,000 for hate speech during a commemoration of the Battle of Grahovac in April 2024.

The Higher State Prosecutor’s Office in Podgorica announced that the Higher Misdemeanor Court upheld its appeal against the decision of the Podgorica Misdemeanors Court, which had acquitted Kovacevic of hate speech charges.

The High State Prosecutor’s Office recalled that, after conducting the procedure, it had assessed that in Kovacevic’s speech had not contained elements of a criminal offense, but rather elements of a misdemeanor, which is why appropriate proceedings were initiated before the competent court.

“The decision of the Higher Misdemeanors Court in Podgorica fully upheld the appeal of the Higher State Prosecutor’s Office, and the first-instance ruling was amended in accordance with the established facts and legal qualifications”, the press release says.