Montenegro Police Scrap Threatened Reporter's Protection

Montenegrin journalists' associations have protested over the decision of the police to scrap round-the-clock security for crime reporter Tufik Softic.

Softic has lived under 24-hour police protection for almost two years following threats he received for coverage of organized crime groups in Montenegro.

Journalists' associations urged the police to explain what assessment led them to conclude that Softic no longer needed protection.

The reporter on organized crime in northern Montenegro told BIRN that he does not feel safe in his hometown of Berane, as people who tried to kill him are still at large in the area.

He said the Interior Ministry had told him by telephone that his police protection was being withdrawn but said he had yet to receive an official document explaining this.

"I'm not surprised by the final outcome and I feel less safe than ever," he told BIRN.

The journalist has been the victim of several attacks since November 2007 when he was beaten up in front of his home by two hooded assailants.

On August 11, 2013, an explosive device was detonated in front of his home. He was at home at the time. The assailants were not found and the case was classed as attempted murder.

The attacks followed a series of articles he wrote about the criminal underground and its ties with the local authorities in the north of Montenegro. BIRN published some of Softic's work in 2007.

In November 2015, the prosecution closed the investigation into the attack on him outside his home which left him with serious injuries. The eight-year investigation wrapped up with no results and no suspects indicted.

Softic, now a reporter for independent daily newspaper Vijesti in Berane,...