Anti-Orthodox Montenegrin law will be appealed in the European court
The European Court in Strasbourg did not accept the claim to ban the anti-Orthodox Montenegrin law “on freedom of religion” on procedural grounds, and not on substance, as the country’s government claims.
This was stated by representatives of the Radić law firm from Belgrade, which filed a lawsuit with the European Court of Human Rights.
Strasbourg explained that the claim should first be considered by the Constitutional Court of Montenegro.
However, the government of Montenegro hastened to declare victory.
“The decision of the Strasbourg court is further proof that claims to the law are purely political and ideological in nature and have no basis in either domestic or international law,” the government said.
However, in reality, the actions of the Montenegrin government do not find support in Europe. French Member of the European Parliament Thiri Mariani, speaking at a meeting of the European Commission, noted that the fears of the residents of Montenegro are not unfounded.
Thierry Mariani
“Hundreds of thousands of Serbs in the country are constantly afraid of radical discrimination. Priests are being attacked, journalists are being arrested, and the situation is getting worse,” Mariani said, adding that the attempt to seize church property by the Montenegrin government is an unprecedented provocation.
“An unprecedented provocation is that the law of December 27, 2019 provides: all churches built before 1918 must be transferred to state ownership. The authorities did this without even consulting the church. Will the EU protect religious freedom in Montenegro?” Mariani told the European Commission.
Meanwhile, the Montenegrin government has finally demonstrated its willingness to seek a compromise. The country's Prime Minister Dusko Markovic proposed preparing an agreement to resolve relations and controversial provisions of the law.
Djukanovic and Markovic
Metropolitan Amfilohije of the SOC of Montenegro-Primorsky is ready to discuss the scandalous law “as the cause of the problems” with the Prime Minister. This is stated in a letter to the head of government published on the metropolitan’s website.
“You obviously don’t want to see that the existing law, and not a non-existent agreement, is the cause of current social problems, and we don’t even talk about their consequences,” the Metropolitan said.
Montenegrin Anti-Orthodox Law to be Challenged in European Court