DER MAFIA-STAAT
In Podgorica, der Hauptstadt Montenegros, hat auch Interpol ein Büro, in einem sozialistischen Zweckbau mit kaputten Fensterläden. Der leitende Ermittler klingt nett und etwas müde am Telefon. Natürlich können wir ihn interviewen, er muss nur kurz jemanden aus dem Ministerium um Erlaubnis fragen, reine Formsache. Wir hören nie wieder etwas von ihm, alle Nachfragen bleiben unbeantwortet. Es scheint leichter zu sein, in Montenegro mit Kriminellen zu sprechen als mit Vertretern der Behörden.
Die amerikanische Politikzeitschrift Foreign Affairs hat Montenegro letztes Jahr als »Mafia-Staat« bezeichnet. Der Regierungschef Milo Djukanovic, Spitzname »König Milo«, ist immer wieder in Korruptionsskandale verwickelt. Ein Bericht der italienischen Polizei wirft ihm vor, dass er das Land in ein »Paradies für Schmuggler« verwandelt habe. In der Nähe der Uni in Cetinje klebt ein Aufkleber an einem Stoppschild: »Unterstützt den Präsidenten, wenn ihr wollt, dass euer Parteibuch wichtiger ist als euer Abschlusszeugnis«.
In Montenegro wurde im Jugoslawienkrieg zwar kaum gekämpft, aber als enger Verbündeter Serbiens war das kleine Land vom Handelsembargo der UN in den Neunzigerjahren betroffen. Zigaretten, Waschpulver und Windeln mussten aus Italien geschmuggelt werden. Die Folge: ein riesiger Schwarzmarkt, auf dem zwar alles verfügbar war – aber eben illegal. Menschen, die zu dieser Zeit in Montenegro aufgewachsen sind, berichten von einem sehr flexiblen Unrechtsempfinden: Ein bisschen gilt ein Dieb in Montenegro als Held – schließlich konnte man bei ihm CDs, Jeans und Schnaps kaufen, als die Läden leer waren.
Vielleicht erklärt das, warum die Symbole der Pink Panthers hier überall zu sehen sind. An ein Garagentor im Küstenort Bar hat jemand die Cartoon-Figur des rosaroten Panthers gemalt, nachts fahren Autos mit einem Panther auf der Motorhaube durch die Straßen der Hauptstadt, am Steuer junge Burschen in Trainingsjacken. Ein beliebtes Lied in der Region geht so: »Wir klauen nicht aus Montenegro, wir klauen für Montenegro.«
DER HINTERMANN ...
http://sz-magazin.sueddeutsche.de/texte/anzeigen/40063/3
analysis 15 Apr 16
Montenegro Probes Investigative Reporter for Drug Trafficking
Montenegrin investigative journalist Jovo
Martinovic, work has exposed crime networks, war criminals and the Pink
Panthers jewel thieves gang, is facing indictment for allegedly aiding a
drug-trafficking gang.
BIRN
Podgorica
 |
| Martinovic worked with the Vice media group on the production of a documentary series about the Pink Panthers and closely cooperated with Dusko Martinovic, who was one of the leading interviews in the series | Youtube screenshot. |
Martinovic, who has worked as a contributing reporter for international media including The Economist, Newsday, the Global Post, the Financial Times and BIRN, has been in custody since October 22, 2015, on suspicion of involvement in a drug-trafficking scheme.
Martinovic, whose six-month custody remand is due to expire on April 22, was arrested alongside 17 other people from Montenegro in a joint operation with Croatian police.
They are suspected of membership of a criminal organization and drug trafficking.
Montenegro nationalist, Dusko Martinovic, a former member of an international group of jewel thieves known as the Pink Panthers, is suspected of being the mastermind of the crime gang.
During the operation, police staged raids in several towns in Montenegro and Croatia, seizing 3.5 kilogrammes of cocaine, 1.5 kilos of herion and 21 kilogrammes of marijuana. Criminal charges were filed against a total of 29 people.
According to the prosecution’s request for an investigation, which BIRN has seen, the 42-year-old reporter is suspected of “mediating in the setting up of a criminal group for drug smuggling”.
Martinovic has insisted he is not guilty, saying that his contact with the other suspects was linked to his journalistic work. His family and lawyer said they did not want to comment on details of the case until the prosecution decides whether to indict him next week.
Over the last 15 years, Martinovic has worked on a several high-profile journalistic research projects which have been published in the some of the world’s most influential media, exposing war crimes and organised crime across the Balkans.
But the authorities in Montenegro insist that his arrest was not related to his work as a reporter.
Over the last ten years, Martinovic has worked on several investigations into the Pink Panthers gang, most of whose members come from the former Yugoslavia. Some 60 Montenegrin nationals were suspected of belonging to the crime network, which reportedly involved a total of 800 people who were directly or indirectly linked to 370 robberies in 35 states.
Martinovic worked as an associate producer for the 2013 documentary about the gang, Smash and Grab.
He worked also with the Vice media group on the production of a 2014 documentary series about the Pink Panthers and closely cooperated with Dusko Martinovic, who was one of the leading interviews in the series.
Another suspect in the drug-smuggling case, Namik Selmanovic, is believed to be an extra in the Vice series.
During 2015, Martinovic continued his contacts with former ‘Panther’ Dusko Martinovic, acting as a local producer for a planned Hollywood film about his life.
At the time of his arrest, Martinovic was working as a fixer with the French production company, CAPA Presse, which had hired him to do background research and find sources for a documentary called La Route de la Kalashnikov.
The documentary, which aired on the French television station Canal Plus in January, exposed illegal smuggling of weapons from the Balkans into Western Europe....
http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/montenegro-probes-investigative-reporter-for-drug-trafficking-04-14-2016
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