Our BiEPAG Member and former Deputy Prime Minister of Montenegro Jovana Marović was detained at Belgrade airport on 23 August, denied entry to Serbia and subsequently deported.
The claim that she presents a security risk to Serbia is spurious and outrageous. Jovana Marović has a long-standing track record as a civil society activist in Montenegro. As a longtime member of the Balkans in Europe Policy Advisory Group, she has been contributing to regional debates how to promote democracy and European integration in the region, and being an author or co-author of policy papers as our latest BiEPAG policy brief on “Keeping the Thessaloniki Promise”.
She served as Deputy Prime Minister in charge of European Integration in Montenegro in 2022-3. Her denied entry to Serbia reveals the authoritarian face of the current government that is unwilling to tolerate criticism.
We strongly condemn the decision of the Serbian authorities as an attack on free speech and call on the EU, as well as Montenegrin authorities to protest this decision.