The resignation of two prominent officials in Montenegro follows the emergence of a leaked explicit video allegedly involving them, which has sparked a scandal within the government.
Mirjana Pajković, the former director general for the promotion and protection of human rights at the Ministry of Human and Minority Rights, confirmed her resignation on Friday, as reported by the Montenegrin newspaper Pobjeda.
The scandal gained traction when a video surfaced online, purportedly showing Pajković engaged in sexual acts with Dejan Vukić, who is both a married individual and the former director of the national security agency and ex- adviser to President Jakov Milatović.
In her statement, Pajković urged all women to defy the expectation to remain silent in the face of attacks, according to the news outlet.
She stated, "When I myself was subjected to the extreme violence I shared on social media, the person closest to the president and the former head of the National Security Agency was relentlessly telling me that there would be no place for me and no life for me in Montenegro." Pajković accused Milatović of failing to address the situation adequately.
Although she attributed her resignation to personal reasons, she leveled accusations at Vukić for allegedly threatening her with the existence of the compromising video to ensure her silence.
Pajković questioned, "Why did I remain quiet at the moment when my boss hinted at having something that could compromise me?" She claimed he cautioned her following her refusal to comply with his requests.
She expressed that she was unaware of the content Vukić allegedly used to blackmail her but feared for her safety given his influential role in the security apparatus.
"Imagine being blackmailed, where someone more powerful may demand favors or behaviors you're unwilling to comply with; if you resist, you'll find yourself in the clutches of someone representing the highest state authority," she elaborated.
Throughout the ongoing scandal, both Pajković and Vukić have denied one another's allegations, while also submitting criminal complaints. An incident involving a landline from the President's office further complicated matters, as reported by the Serbian Times.
One of Pajković's complaints was regarding the unauthorized dissemination of explicit material, including an image of herself.
Vukić resigned in late December for personal reasons after Pajković reported him to the police, which followed the clandestine release of explicit content online.
He rejected the accusations against him, stating, "I deny all false, incomplete, and biased claims attributing me responsibility for violating [Pajković's] privacy and distributing the disputed recordings. I encountered that material for the first time when it circulated unlawfully on social media."
Vukić accused Pajković of breaching his privacy by allegedly misusing the phone that recorded a threat made to her during a call from the President’s office.
He claimed, "The remarks I made to [Pajković] were a reaction to the theft and abuse of my phone."
In March, Vukić purportedly received an extortion call demanding that he withdraw a judge’s nomination for the constitutional court or face the public release of the audio recordings, alleging that Pajković was involved.
He asserted that after making a police report against her for extortion, theft, and phone misuse, Pajković was interrogated by authorities.
Notably, Vukić claimed that she used a recording of the alleged threat in her January complaint, attempting to misrepresent it as a recent occurrence. It remains uncertain when the controversial video was recorded.
Comments (0)
You must be logged in to comment.
Be the first to comment on this article!