2015–16 Montenegrin crisis

Members of the former ruling majority in Montenegro's parliament. Photo: Parliament of Montenegro

The coalition government collapsed on February 4 after parliament backed a vote of no-confidence called by the ruling Black on White bloc and opposition parties.

The National Security Agency of Montenegro stated that several Russian agencies were behind the unprecedented cyber attack against Montenegrin institutions, BTA reported.

Montenegro's intelligence agency also said it feared the attack had not yet reached its peak and that all "key infrastructure", such as the electricity system or water supply, could be targeted.

In a gesture seen as provocative towards the Montenegrin government, the Serbian Defence Minister, Aleksandar Vulin, handed a medal on Sunday in Belgrade to a prominent opposition politician in Montenegro who the government considers a coup plotter.

Knezevic, a fierce critic of the three-decade-long rule of Djukanovic, was one of two Front leaders, along with Andrija Mandic, convicted in the first-instance ruling of involvement in a failed coup in 2016, which the authorities claim originated in Russia. They have appealed their sentences. 

The high-profile coup plot trial in Podgorica on Tuesday heard testimony from US security company executive Brian Scott, an ex-CIA operative who the prosecution claims offered to evacuate opposition politicians and protesters from parliament during a violent overthrow of the government that was allegedly planned for October 2016.

Former Serbian Gendarmerie Commander Bratislav Dikic said on Wednesday that the coup charges against him had been "invented" - and that he would never have planned to commit a terrorist attack in Montenegro.

United Russia official Sergei Zheleznyak has confirmed that he invited the leaders of the Montenegrin opposition Democratic Front to Moscow.

The trial began on Wednesday in Podgorica of those accused of attempted terrorism in Montenegro during on election day in that country on October 16, 2016.

Montenegro's Supreme Court has enabled a live TV broadcast of the proceedings.

What is being called the 'trial of the century' in Montenegro is scheduled to open on Wednesday as two opposition leaders face terrorism charges over their role in an alleged Russian-backed coup plot.

Two pro-Russian opposition leaders in Montenegro and 12 other suspects will go on trial July 19 over their role in an alleged attempt to overthrow the government.

Montenegrin police arrested a group of Serbian nationals on the eve of a general election in October, accusing them of planning to storm parliament and target the then prime minister, pro-Western Milo Djukanovic.