Olivera Lakić

Olivera Lakic is a stalwart investigative reporter from Montenegro. In her 16-year career with the independent daily Vijesti, she has earned a reputation as a dedicated, determined, and respected reporter who chases down stories about crime and corruption, often at great personal risk. Following a series of investigative articles into the underground trade of counterfeit tobacco, Ms. Lakic received anonymous threats in 2011 warning her that if she did not stop reporting, she and her daughter would face reprisals. Undeterred, she kept reporting, and in 2012 an assailant attacked her outside her home in the capital city of Podgorica. Six years later in almost the same location, an assailant shot Ms. Lakic in the leg on May 8, 2018. The United States joined other governments and international organizations in quickly condemning the shooting. Although the shooter remains unknown and at large, Ms. Lakic has become a galvanizing symbol for media reform and journalist safety in Montenegro. A survivor and a fighter, she considers the 2011 threat against her daughter the gravest attack on her and her family.