The Basic Court in Podgorica has officially dismissed a high-profile defamation lawsuit brought by Andrej Vučić—the brother of Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić—against the prominent Montenegrin independent daily Vijesti.
In a landmark first-instance verdict, the court ruled that the newspaper’s publication of leaked Sky ECC encrypted communications naming the younger Vučić brother was of profound public interest.
Crucially, the judiciary legally designated Andrej Vučić as an active political official who must tolerate a higher threshold of public scrutiny, shattering years of rhetoric from Belgrade portraying him as a private citizen detached from state affairs.
Shifting Status: The Proof on the SNS Website
Andrej Vučić had sued Vijesti, its editor-in-chief Mihailo Jovović, and investigative journalist Jelena Jovanović, demanding €5,000 in solidary damages for alleged violations of his honor and dignity. The lawsuit stemmed from a January 2024 investigative report detailing encrypted Sky ECC chats between fugitive Montenegrin police officer Ljubo Milović and Miloš Božović.
To determine if the newspaper acted in good faith, the Podgorica court formally reviewed internal organizational records on the official website of the ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS).
[THE PODGORICA JUDICIAL FINDING]
│
▼
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ PARTY RANK: Confirmed active member of the SNS Executive │
│ Board (Izvršni odbor). │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ OPERATIONAL FOOTPRINT: Verified as a key coordinator at │
│ party conventions in Voždovac and Zrenjanin. │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ LEGAL CONSEQUENCE: Classified as an active political actor │
│ subject to wide-reaching public and media criticism. │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
The court’s definitive evidence directly contradicts past statements by President Aleksandar Vučić, who has repeatedly insisted to domestic audiences that his brother “does not engage in politics” and is merely an ordinary employee at the state mint (Kovnica novca).
The Leaked Sky ECC Chat: “The First Billion”
The underlying criminal files that triggered the lawsuit paint a troubling picture of cross-border institutional capture involving security agencies, criminal syndicates, and political elites.
According to the authenticated Sky ECC transcripts published by Vijesti, fugitive Montenegrin cartel associate Ljubo Milović messaged Božović in March 2021 to highlight the massive accumulation of black-market wealth in Belgrade:
Leaked Sky ECC Transcript (March 2021): “They say Zvonko [Veselinović] and Andrej [Vučić] celebrated their first billion recently.”
[THE ENCRYPTED NETWORK TRAFFIC]
│
┌───────────────────────┴───────────────────────┐
▼ ▼
THE TRANSCRIPT FOCUS: THE DEFENSE STATEMENT:
• Allegations that Andrej Vučić and blacklisted • Andrej Vučić testified he does not know
Kosovo businessman Zvonko Veselinović control the cartel figures but admitted Veselinović
illicit financial flows in Serbia. is a "casual acquaintance."
During his formal court deposition, Andrej Vučić denied any knowledge of the Montenegrin cartel figures, claiming it was below his level to communicate with criminals. However, he admitted under oath to knowing Veselinović, a controversial northern Kosovo kingpin who has been placed under strict sanctions by the United States and the United Kingdom for transnational organized crime.
The “Sacred Cow” of Serbian Jurisprudence
The Montenegrin verdict has sent shockwaves through Belgrade’s legal and political circles. Prominent Serbian human rights attorney Jovan Rajić pointed out that while the Podgorica court exercised standard judicial transparency, the text remains entirely untouched by the Higher Prosecutor’s Office in Serbia.
Attorney Jovan Rajić on the Rule of Law Contrast: “Everyone in Serbia knows that Andrej Vučić is the gray eminence of the SNS. Yet, he remains a ‘sacred cow’ within the Serbian judiciary—untouchable, unnamed, and protected by a firewall. He still owes the public a factual explanation as to why his name appears inside these global Sky ECC decryption files. While Montenegro’s courts dismiss his claims, our local prosecutors keep this file locked firmly in a drawer.”
The “Loyalist” Shock Troops of Ćacilend
The court ruling matches a parallel increase in Andrej Vučić’s overt, aggressive public visibility within Serbia over the past year.
Once a shadowy backroom organizer, the younger Vučić shocked observers in late 2024 during the massive student anti-corruption blockades. He appeared at the center of a heavily policed pro-regime camp in Pioneer Park—dubbed Ćacilend (“Daddy’s Land”)—where he was filmed shouting slurs and flashing his middle finger at anti-government demonstrators.
President Vučić later publicly embraced his brother’s aggressive shift, categorizing him as a leader of the radical “Loyalist” faction within the SNS:
[THE "LOYALIST" FRACTION PROFILE]
│
▼
┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ MEMBERSHIP: ~17,000 ultra-disciplined, hardline males. │
├───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ IDEOLOGY: Radical anti-opposition stance; swore blood oaths │
│ to never compromise with the former democratic establishment. │
└───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Opposition leader Marinika Tepić immediately seized on the Podgorica court decision on Wednesday evening, using social media to lambast Serbian Chief Prosecutor Zagorka Dolovac and Organized Crime Prosecutor Mladen Nenadić for criminal complicity. Tepić noted that the files explicitly bind top state officials, including Government Secretary-General Novak Nedić, to international cocaine distribution networks, proving that the Serbian justice system is completely paralyzed by the executive branch.
