Threats to murder against Oliver Ivanov were ignored

Oliver Ivanovic, killed in northern Mitrovica on Tuesday, had reported a number of threats and had sought assistance from both the authorities of Serbia and those of Kosovo, but was ignored.

He and his family had sometimes received life threats, but his pleas for help ended without results.

“They did everything they could to me, except to kill me -- but even that doesn't rule out”, Ivanovic told regional television N1 in November last year.

Ivanovic's car was burned on June 28th, months before local elections in Kosovo.

He headed the Civic Initiative, called “Leary, Democracy, Justice” (SDP), and acted as an opponent of the main Kosovo Serb party, the Serbian List, which is now part of the Kosovo government.

Ivanovic told N1 that the aim of threats is the intimidation of opponents around him.

According to a report by a Ivanovic press conference, held after last year's incident, he said it is his own thing that anyone does not like. My “Policy”, he stressed.

After the incident he told RTK, who informed the leadership of Serbia, Kosovo and the international community, EULEX, prosecutors and KFOR peacekeeping forces for threats and pressures against it.

This is not the first time Ivanovic's car had been burned.

A similar incident occurred in 2005 when a bomb was placed under his car, which was parked in front of his building.

I expect nothing from the police, because so far nothing has been done in similar situations. Or it is a matter of lack of competence, which I doubt, or a lack of courage to enter into conflict with criminals and solve such cases”, he told Beta News in July.

In September 2013, prior to then local elections, an unknown person entered Ivanovic's apartment and attacked his wife, according to the Serbian media report.

Ivanovi was then the candidate for North Mitrovica chairman.

In the same year, someone lit a fire at his party headquarters. Once again, Ivanovi told the media he was sure the motive was his policy.

Ivanovic's party spokeswoman Ksenija Bozovic told BIRN :” No one can say they didn't know”.

What else could have happened in order for someone to react?

Bozovic added that the leaders were not found in either case.

“He was afraid for his life, for his family's safety, and informed everyone about this -- Serbia, Kosovo, the international community.

Everyone knew”, she said.

Kosovo and Serbian police did not answer BIRN's questions about threats Ivanovi had reported earlier.

Serbia's president, Aleksandar Vuciq, said on Tuesday that Serbia's security services had no knowledge of the existence of direct threats to Ivanovic.

Ivanovi was shot dead early Tuesday morning in front of his office and died a little later in the hospital.

His murder was widely condemned by the EU and Kosovo and Serbian officials.