The Zagreb County Office of the Prosecutor has dismissed reports filed against Independent Democratic Serb Party (SDSS) leader Milorad Pupovac, accusing him of inciting hate and defaming the country's reputation with comments he made following attacks on members of the Serb minority this past summer.
Without revealing Pupovac’s identity, the county prosecutor’s office said it had dismissed all 13 reports alleging that Pupovac had incited violence and hate and defamed Croatia’s reputation.
The reports, filed by two associations and 11 individuals, referred to Pupovac’s comments on attacks on members of the Serb minority that occurred in Uzdolje and Djevrske on 21 August, 2019, the office of the prosecutor said on its website.
It went on to say that the reports were dismissed “because… the said actions do not constitute the criminal act of incitement to violence and hate or the criminal act of defaming the reputation of the Republic of Croatia or any other criminal act that is prosecuted ex officio.”
“Sharp but permissible criticism” by member of parliament
The prosecutor’s office believes that the content of Pupovac’s statements “was not intended to ridicule, disparage or grossly belittle the Republic of Croatia nor did it constitute a call for public violence and hate, but rather essentially constitutes sharp but permissible criticism of the said events in Croatia.”
“This is especially so as the case at hand concerns a member of the Croatian parliament who represents his electorate, and members of parliament enjoy the highest level of protection of the freedom of expression and presentation of their political views, ideas and assessments, guaranteed by the Constitution and relevant conventions,” the prosecutor’s office said.
Leaders of war veterans’ associations, notably the HVIDRA disabled war veterans’ association, have lately been calling on the Office of the Chief State Prosecutor to investigate Pupovac’s statements, stressing that he constantly breaches laws, the Constitution and the Homeland War Declaration. They have also accused him of grossly belittling Croatia and comparing it to the World War II Nazi-allied Independent State of Croatia (NDH).
