A former Montenegrin state secretary said on Saturday she fears for her safety after intimate videos allegedly linked to her were leaked online, prompting her resignation and sparking a political and legal dispute involving senior former security officials.
Mirjana Pajković, until recently a state secretary at Montenegro’s Ministry for Human and Minority Rights, stepped down after explicit material circulated on social media. She has denied that the case is a sex scandal, saying instead that she is the victim of political intimidation and revenge.
In an interview with regional broadcaster Face TV, Pajković said she had been subjected to threats, harassment and psychological pressure, claiming that unidentified actors were trying to drive her to suicide.
“They want there to be no place and no life for me in Montenegro,” she said, adding that she fears for her life and that state institutions have so far failed to protect her.
Pajković has accused Dejan Vukšić, a former director of Montenegro’s National Security Agency and until recently an adviser to President Jakov Milatović, of threatening her and warning that compromising material would be made public. She said she recorded one such conversation for self-protection.
Vukšić has rejected the allegations, denying any involvement in the creation or distribution of the videos and saying he first saw the material only after it appeared publicly. He has filed criminal complaints against Pajković and unknown persons, alleging attempted blackmail linked to his failed bid for a judicial post.
Both Pajković and Vukšić resigned from their respective posts in recent weeks, citing private reasons. Police and prosecutors have confirmed that investigations are under way but have released few details.
Pajković said she has filed criminal complaints against several officials, including President Milatović, whom she accused of failing to support her. She said she would take the case to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg if Montenegrin authorities do not safeguard her rights.
The affair has triggered a broader debate in Montenegro over the misuse of intimate material, privacy protections and the alleged use of security services and kompromat in political power struggles.