ZAGREB, August 20, 2018 – Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said on Monday that no evidence has suggested that there was any objective responsibility by Health Minister Milan Kujundžić for the death of Matteo Ružić, adding that he would not allow a witch-hunt against the minister.
The recent death of the 21-year-old, who died in the street in the town of Zaprešić has triggered a public outcry, with members of the opposition and some activists claiming that the entire health system has failed.
Last Thursday, Health Minister Kujundžić said that an inspection conducted by the ministry into Ružić’s death had shown that the emergency service system had worked in this case and that everything was done in line with Croatian regulations and standards.
Death evidently occurred very quickly, it was a sudden death of an asthma patient and an autopsy will reveal if there was any other underlying illness, the minister said at a press conference on 16 August, once again extending his condolences to the family.
“At this moment I do not see why I should resign if the system worked. I didn’t set up the system,” Kujundžić said. Referring to the MOST party, which requested his resignation, he said it was “pathetic to use a young man’s death to score political points.”
On 16 August, Kujundžić met with Prime Minister Plenković, informing him in detail about the inspection.
During today’s visit to the Divulje fire-fighting centre in Split, Plenković was asked again to comment on the case, and he reiterated that he and the minister had studied the findings of the inspection and that he had not seen anything for which the minister should objectively be held accountable.
Plenković said that when it came to the case of the demise of the young man, he would wait for the findings of an autopsy which was conducted by the Zagreb-based Institute for Forensics and Criminology before commenting on the cause of the death.
What I cannot allow is a witch-hunt against people, and in this case against the helath minister, Plenković said. He also called for conclusions to be made based on facts instead of allowing the disseminating of misinformation.
Let us make decisions after the findings of the Institute for Forensics and Criminology rather than making conclusions based on the public uproar which hasn’t been based on facts, the prime minister said today.
