Kosovo journalist dies from wounds of early June attack

DPA, Jun 26, 2005, 19:00 GMT

Pristina - Kosovo journalist Bardhyl Ajeti died Saturday in an Italian hospital from wounds sustained during an early June assassination attempt in eastern Kosovo, Pristina media reported.

Bardil Ajeti of the pro-government newspaper Bota Sot was shot in the head at close range on June 3 near the eastern town of Gnjilane. Police arrested one of three suspected attackers.

Journalists of Bota Sot, a Pristina daily close to the ruling Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) led by provincial President Ibrahim Rugova, have been often targeted in the last several years.

Some 20 LDK activists have been murdered, including Bota Sot editor Bekim Kastrati, and dozens wounded in some 60 politically motivated attacks since the U.N. administration took control over Kosovo in 1999. Local media attributed the attacks to the struggle for power between LDK and former ethnic Albanian guerrillas-turned- politicians from the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK).

International media watchdogs, including the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), described Kosovo as a highly insecure environment for journalist work, mainly due to the numerous threats and attacks from various criminal and quasi- political groups.