Milica Živković, 24, is planning to appeal the court’s decision
A woman was fined for fighting back all too well against a man who sexually assaulted her.
Milica Živković walked into court as a victim, but the judge gave her a slap on the wrist for ‘exceeding the necessity of self-defence’.
The 24-year-old was walking home with a friend after a night out at the town of Kolašin, in northern Montenegro, when she noticed a man was following them.
He tried to speak with them, but the two ignored his advances and tried to laugh it off.
The attack left the student scared for her life
What followed next made her fearful for her life and anticipating ‘the worst’, the student told Metro.co.uk.
Milica said: ‘He grabbed my chin… and then he grabbed me by my intimate part (bottom area).
‘Defending myself, I hit him with a closed and then open fist, which I learnt while training kickboxing for four years.’
She added: ‘In such moments you can only think of the worst. But I fought as hard as I could, and of course I knocked him out.’
Milica has received a lot of support from people in Montenegro, including the PM
In court, Milica was fined €82 for ‘exceeding the necessity of self-defence’ and for ‘violating public order and peace’, which made her feel ‘very uncomfortable’.
Meanwhile, her attacker had to pay only €370 before being released from prison.
Her punishment has been criticised by a number of women’s rights organisations in Montenegro.
Thousands of people, mostly women, took to the streets in larger cities in protest against sexual violence across the Balkan country in a sign of solidarity with Milica.
Prime minister Dritan Abazović even issued a statement about the court’s decision calling it ‘unfortunately devastating’.
He stressed: ‘I regret that such examples confirm how necessary we need changes in the judiciary and prosecutor’s office.’
‘But Milica was not afraid, but bravely and calmly defended herself from the bully, who eventually got the upper hand and was beaten.
This comes just days after protests against femicide erupted in yet another Balkan nation, Bosnia, after a bodybuilder livestreamed his ex-wife’s execution to 12,000 on Instagram.
Vladislav Dajković, a Montenegrin politician, also tweeted a picture of the student, saying: ‘This is Milica Živković from Kolašin.
‘She was attacked yesterday by a Turkish citizen, who tried to forcefully kiss her and touch her body parts.
‘What is scandalous is the verdict of the judge who condemned Milica to pay the fine because she injured the attacker in self-defence.
‘Such behavior of institutions that ignore women’s rights leads to such tragic and bloody outcomes as the horrific murder of a woman in Bosnia two days ago.’
After reports about the court’s decision last week, hundreds of people stepped in to offer to pay for Milica’s fine.
She is now appealing against the ruling not because of the money she has beenordered to pay, but to ensure that justice is served.
‘People’s response has been mostly positive,’ Milica stressed. ‘I have received a lot of support, which will help me reach my goal and get justice as soon as possible.
‘Of course, I have received negative comments, mostly from women who should be my biggest supporters, but sadly we are not all the same.’
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‘I fought as hard as I could, and of course I knocked him out.’