“I respect the legal institutions of the state at all levels, including the court’s decision to issue an indictment against me, and I strongly believe that during the trial I will prove my innocence,” he said in a statement for the media.
The indictment, upheld last Friday by the Split Municipal Court, charges Ivošević with having threatened an editor at the Slobodna Dalmacija daily after an argument over the phone.
A few days after the indictment was issued, Split Mayor Ivica Puljak stepped down together with Ivošević and his second deputy Antonio Kuzmanić, deciding to go to a snap election. Along with electing a new mayor Split residents will also elect a new, 31-seat City Council.