The Croatian justice system suddenly becomes very efficient.
On Sunday afternoon, the Misdemeanour Court in Split sentenced 7 of the 12 young men arrested on Saturday to five days in prison for breaking public order and peace on the Split-Supetar ferry line and in port of Supetar, when they insulted former Croatian Olympian and current State Secretary for Sports Janica Kostelić. Two minors were released, and the authorities have decided not to prosecute three of the arrested men, reports Večernji List on June 12, 2017.
The speedy trial, which was closed to the public because the accused included two minors, was led by Judge Snježana Radovniković, who heard all the 12 arrested suspects, after which she ruled as stated.
Interestingly, in this case, the police demanded prison sentences, which is quite unusual for cases involving verbal insults. According to sources, after the seven convicts spend five days in jail, their prison sentences could even be extended. The accused are between 17 and 27 years old, and most of them had parents present during the hearing. Some of them came from the wider Split area.
The group was arrested on Saturday evening and Sunday morning after they broke public order and peace and insulted State Secretary for Sports Janica Kostelić on Saturday afternoon while she was travelling to the island of Brač.
Kostelić was in an official vehicle of the Ministry, together with two other staff members. A group of young men on the ferry surrounded the car they were in and insulted Kostelić. They did the same again when the car was leaving the ship, in the port of Supetar. All of this was filmed by witnesses and videos were posted on the internet, which helped the police with identifying the perpetrators.
Kostelić reported the incident to the police and left the island. The insults against State Secretary Kostelić have been condemned by the Government of Croatia, which said that they were “an expression of disrespect towards her sports achievements, but also to her current role, despite the efforts made in introducing positive trends in Croatian sports.”
The incident was also condemned by the Croatian Olympic Committee (HOO), which pointed out that the behavior of the group of men “was shameful and unacceptable in a civilised society.”
While insulting anyone is of course unacceptable, the authorities do seem to have different standards when dealing with insults and verbal attacks on various groups in society, particularly if they include high-ranking government officials, when the police and justice system’s reaction is swift and penalties strict. In many other cases, particularly if opposition politicians or vulnerable groups in society are involved, the response is not as quick or efficient.
Janica Kostelić was appointed to her current post last year. Although she was exceptionally successful as an athlete, her career as a government official has not been nearly as fruitful. Despite talk about “introducing order in Croatian sports,” she has yet to do anything of importance.
