Unofficial reports about the State Attorney's Office (DORH), which is investigating the procurement of 35 ECMO devices during the term of Zoran Milanovic's government, provoked reactions from opposition MPs on Friday.

They pointed out the suspicious timing in view of the presidential election campaign and warned that DORH should not be used for political purposes.

In response to State Attorney-General Ivan Turudic’s statement that he could neither confirm nor deny the reports about the investigation into ECMO procurement from ten years ago, Misel Jaksic from the Social Democratic Party (SDP) remarked that he himself certainly had far less information than Turudic.

Mrak-Taritas: ECMO story was intended to influence the presidential election campaign

He added that the SDP had no problem with someone deciding to raise the issue again if they felt it was necessary.

Sandra Bencic (Mozemo party) said that the problems related to DORH are obvious and were recently made clear: “When the State Attorney-General sent a letter to the European Chief Prosecutor claiming that EPPO violated the rule of law in Croatia in the Rimac case, even though Croatian courts confirmed EPPO’s jurisdiction, it became clear that he no longer even recognises Croatian court decisions.”

Anka Mrak-Taritas (GLAS party) argued that the ECMO story has not gained traction, even though it was intended to influence the presidential election campaign.

Marijan Pavlicek (Croatian Sovereignists) stated that any potential scandal should be investigated, but criticised DORH for waiting ten years to act.

Independent MP Marija Selak-Raspudic, who said she was the first to bring the ECMO case to the public’s attention, welcomed the investigation but warned against politicising the DORH.