Lawyer Ninic: Tivat case exposes criminalized political networks in Serbia under Vucic's leadership

"The 'Tivat' case and the expedition of 87 Vučić loyalists are not a 'political miscalculation' but a direct export of state crime, party paramilitaries and hit squads with the aim of destabilizing a sovereign state such as Montenegro."

This is what Serbian lawyer Ivan Ninic told Nova, following the scandal in which Montenegrin security services returned a charter flight with 87 passengers that arrived in Tivat to Belgrade, after it was determined that they were persons with security files and data.

"The decision of the Montenegrin authorities to prohibit the entry of this group, which included persons of security interest, represents a serious institutional signal and a legal response to a potential threat to national security," Ninic stated.

According to information published in regional media, the passengers are suspected of having links to fan groups, private security structures and various cases of violent crime, including individuals with criminal convictions. Some of them also appear on international wanted lists.

Another element that has raised questions is the financing of the flight and the organization of the trip. So far, it has not been revealed who paid for the charter and the group's accommodation in Tivat.

According to Niniq, there are suspicions that public funds may have been used for this purpose, describing it as a major political and moral problem.

"It is devastating to think that citizens are funding charter flights for such structures, while there are a lack of resources for basic needs," he said, adding that the case points to possible connections between politics and organized groups.

According to him, the purpose of the trip was to organize "spontaneous" rallies in support of Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić during the Summit in Tivat, which Montenegrin authorities have interpreted as a potential threat to public order and security.

Ninic went further, describing the situation as part of a broader political pattern in Serbia, where, according to him, structures linked to power are used for influence abroad.

He also criticized the reaction of Serbian authorities, who have minimized the incident and denied the involvement of criminal elements in the group.

On the other hand, the Montenegrin media outlet "Vijesti" reported that accommodation was also organized for the passengers in a luxury complex in Tivat, through an agreement concluded the day before the flight between a local hotel company and a tourist agency from Bijeljina.

Although Vučić calls the citizens of Montenegro "brothers and sisters" in front of the cameras and invites President Jakov Milatović to visit, the practice at the border shows the true face of Belgrade's policy towards neighbors who refuse to be under its political umbrella.

The EU-Western Balkans summit in Tivat, instead of regional cooperation, revealed Belgrade's methods and confirmed that Serbia under Vučić actively uses dubious security structures for the political destabilization of its neighbors.

The GeoPost