Montenegro bans entry for 87 people and two buses from Serbia
Montenegro's Police Administration and ANB say 87 men were denied entry under the Aliens Act, with two buses registered in Serbia seized.
- Montenegro's Police Administration and the ANB say 87 men were denied entry to the country under the Aliens Act.
- Two buses registered in Serbia were seized, suspected of being intended to transport the group from Belgrade.
- Authorities announced they would move to issue formal entry and stay bans in the coming period.
- Border checks were stepped up ahead of the EU and Western Balkans summit set for June 5.
Montenegro’s Police Administration and the National Security Agency (ANB) said on June 3 that 87 men were denied entry to Montenegro under the Aliens Act, according to RTS and Tanjug. The decision followed an assessment of risks to internal and national security, the two bodies said in their statement.
A charter flight was turned back, and Montenegrin authorities also seized two buses registered in Serbia which, the statement says, are suspected of having been intended to transport the group from Belgrade. The Police Administration announced that it would move to issue formal decisions on bans of entry and stay in the period ahead.
What legal basis did Montenegro’s authorities cite?
The official statement from the Police Administration and the ANB, carried by RTS, says that “for 87 men, in line with the Aliens Act, entry to Montenegro is banned.” The cited basis for the decision was an assessment of risks to the country’s internal and national security.
Montenegrin authorities also specified what was seized during the operation. According to the statement carried by RTS, Tanjug and the Podgorica daily Dan, the two buses registered in Serbia were taken, along with certain items. Among the seized items were:
- a banner reading “Serbia is winning,”
- a remote communication device,
- a marine radio station.
The Police Administration said that checks at border crossings and airports had been intensified ahead of the European Union and Western Balkans summit, scheduled for June 5. The announced further measures, it added, concern the issuing of individual decisions on bans of entry and stay in the coming period.
What is confirmed and what remains an allegation
The official statement from the two Montenegrin bodies stops at the legal basis, the number of people, the seized buses and items, and the announcement of further measures. The characterizations that surfaced in public are not part of that statement.
According to unofficial reports by the portal Vijesti and some media outlets, the group that was turned back was allegedly tasked with informally providing security for Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic during his stay in Montenegro. That claim is not part of the official police statement and has not been officially confirmed.
Some of the sharper characterizations were offered as personal assessments rather than established facts. Analyst Zlatko Vujovic of the Center for Monitoring and Research (CEMI) publicly described the group with the term “thugs,” which is his assessment, not a finding by Montenegrin authorities. As of the publication of this article, the Serbian side had not issued an official response to the claims about the purpose of the trip.
It remains an open question how the incident will affect relations between Belgrade and Podgorica on the eve of the EU and Western Balkans summit. How do you see it: will official Belgrade respond to the decision by Montenegrin authorities?
