Miljenic says threats to lawyers to be prosecuted ex officio

Justice Minister Orsat Miljenic said on Wednesday that threats or acts of coercion directed at lawyers would be treated as acts that were prosecuted ex officio and that during his term in office, nothing resembling verbal offence, including an indictable act of denying the character of the 1991-95 Homeland War, would be introduced in the Penal Code.

Speaking in an interview with Croatian Radio, Milejnic said that he was against the proposal by the Croatian Bar Association (HOK) that attacks on the life of lawyers should be treated as a separate category of criminal offences, but added that in the future threats and acts of coercion directed at lawyers would be prosecuted ex officio.

In a proposal submitted to the Justice Ministry in early March, HOK suggested that amendments to the Penal Code include attacks on lawyers as a separate category of crimes. The request to protect in that way the legal profession, which is a constitutional category, was repeated by HOK after Osijek lawyer Vlatko Vidakovic was killed this past Monday.

As for Zagreb County Court president Ivan Turudic's proposal that the Penal Code should incorporate a crime of denying the character of the Homeland War, Miljenic said that during his term in office nothing resembling verbal offence would be introduced in the Penal Code.

"I am not sure whether (the proposal) is about a political platform, election programme or something else, but to put someone in prison just because they do not think like I do is out of the question. We had that in the old times, we were all dissatisfied with that and as long as I am in this office, it will not be restored in the Croatian legal system," said Miljenic.

(Hina) rml

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