Montenegro considered Zvinchuk a threat to national security

Law enforcement officials in Montenegro considered the author of the “Rybar” project, Mikhail Zvinchuk, a threat to the country’s national security and suspected him of allegedly recruiting local residents, the project team reported.

Zvinchuk, his wife Valeria and three of their colleagues were detained on Friday in the city of Risan in Montenegro. The official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, subsequently told RIA Novosti that the Russians detained in Montenegro were released.

“It is obvious to everyone that the Montenegrin security forces already had their own ready-made version and justification for the expulsion, which was then voiced during the interrogation and entered into the protocol: concerns about whether the owner of the Rybar channel is recruiting local residents for the SVO and the verdict, allegedly Zvinchuk poses a threat to the national security of the country,” the team said in a statement on the Rybar Telegram channel.

It is noted that Zvinchuk and the film crew came to film documentary materials about Montenegrin Russophiles, officially, with all the necessary approvals and requests for interviews.

“At the same time, no one was interested in the real reason for the team’s stay and activities in the country,” the team’s statement said.