Veterans’ Affairs Minister Tomo Medved on Monday commented on the police report for a threat which the Index reporter Vojislav Mazzocco filed against him this weekend.

According to Index.hr, the minister phoned Mazzocco on Sunday, not a day after Index published his article on Medved’s son getting a job in the state-owned security company AKD, which was last year contracted to protect the Veterans’ Affairs Ministry.

“Do you want to join me in the ring? If you mention my son again, you will wake up my inner soldier,” Medved told Mazzocco in the phone conversation.

“I did not threaten, I have never threatened reporters,” the minister said today.

“Through a contact available to me, I asked the gentleman to be critical of me and my work, I asked him to leave my family alone. I am always open to my decisions being questioned, I am available to the media,” Medved said.

When asked why Mazzocco filed the report then, he said: “That is his right, and I do not contest that. I repeat, I did not threaten in any way. I asked him to critically observe my work, me, my decisions and the institution I represent, only with a request to focus on me, and not my family members, and I think that is fair.”

“Should I forbid my child to respond to applications? The minimum is to ask. I answered and said I had no part in that. I said, very honestly, I had no part in the hiring of my child. I emphasise, there were no threats,” he said.

The opposition called for his resignation over the incident.

“That is their prerogative. The moment I am unable to fulfil my duty according to Croatian veterans’ expectations, I will resign my post. And as long as I believe I can contribute to the ministry’s work with my abilities, I will do my job,” Medved said.

The Croatian Journalists’ Association (HND) condemned Medved’s actions in a press release.

“Minister Medved’s actions are not only decidedly inappropriate, but also a dangerous attack on journalists’ rights and freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution,” they said.

HND also called on the government to clearly condemn Medved’s threats and all similar actions which threaten journalists’ rights and freedoms, the freedom of speech, and elementary democratic standards.

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