The presidential candidate of the Mozemo party, Ivana Kekin, has refused to apologise to Nikica Jelavic for calling him a mafioso. For this reason, both she and her husband, as well as Mozemo MP Sandra Bencic, are being taken to court. Jelavic's lawyer, Anto Nobilo, confirmed that he is preparing two lawsuits in connection with this case.

“Maybe they will change their mind and apologise by the end of the day, because that is their deadline. But since they have announced that they still will not apologise, we are preparing two lawsuits,” lawyer Anto Nobilo, who represents Nikica Jelavic, told the news site 24sata.

According to Nobilo, both lawsuits will be filed against the Kekin couple – Mozemo presidential candidate Ivana Kekin and her husband, singer Mile Kekin – and against Mozemo MP Sandra Bencic.

Nobilo: “They could have resolved everything up with a simple ‘sorry'”

One lawsuir will be for “personal injury”, i.e. compensation for the damage to Jelavic’s reputation after he was labelled a “mafioso.”

The second lawsuit is for the criminal offence of defamation against the same trio. Nobilo’s office is currently collecting materials and statements from the media. He added that the amount of damages claimed has not yet been finalised and will be determined on Friday when the lawsuits are filed, noting that this will be done “as a matter of court practise.”

“As mentioned in Monday’s warning, they could have resolved everything with a simple ‘sorry,’ but they chose not to. This is not about money, this is about an apology and coming to terms with the falsehoods that have damaged my client’s reputation,” Nobilo said.

Although the Kekins are not the only ones who have mentioned Jelavic in connection with the term mafioso, Nobilo made it clear that no one else will be sued.

“We are targeting the core of the matter and those who set everything in motion and brought it to the public. They started spreading falsehoods about the coffee meeting and started the whole situation with their hysterical reaction, the police reports and the public statements. Many have subsequently spoken out about the case, but to include everyone would water it down,” explained Nobilo.

“The truth about the coffee meeting is ‘much, much worse'”

Nikica Jelavic has yet to present “his truth” about the coffee meeting, but he will present evidence in the lawsuits to refute claims that he and Mile Kekin did not know each other before the incident.

As a reminder, on Monday Jelavic issued a warning to Ivana Kekin via Nobilo and gave her three days to apologise. She refused on the grounds that she had no reason to apologise and insisted that Mile Kekin had been tricked into a meeting after Nikica Jelavic told him: “I am a footballer, not that mafioso”, leading him to believe he was meeting a younger Jelavic, who is involved with FC Lokomotiva juniors, and not the older Jelavic.

“I call on you again to apologise and clarify the matter. After that, Nikica Jelavic will withdraw from the public eye. Nikica Jelavic is a private person, not a public figure, and this situation was forced on him by you. You basically brought the affair on yourself and then dealt with it unnecessarily. Is it really that hard to apologise?” the warning reads. It also mentioned that the truth about the coffee meeting is “much, much worse than anything that has been published in the media.”