By: Nova24tv.si
In an interview for Nova24TV, former SOVA director and chairman of the Defence Committee within the SDS expert council, Janez Stušek, sharply assessed the press conference at which Nika Kovač, Filip Dobranić, Borut Mekina, and Israeli expert Achyia Schatz presented alleged evidence that Israeli intelligence services had recorded Slovenian citizens and that the data had supposedly been obtained from SOVA.
Janez Stušek not only doubts the credibility of the evidence presented, but he also views the entire operation as a pre‑election political tool that requires an immediate investigation by law‑enforcement authorities, including due to the possible misuse of domestic institutions.
When asked about the persuasiveness of the evidence and the possibility that the information came from SOVA, Stušek responded bluntly: “I am convinced that this data and everything they presented is, in my view, completely unconvincing. I am certain they did not get this from SOVA – if SOVA had been acting in an official capacity, it would have forwarded this information much earlier. If they received it off the record, then that is an abuse of official position with the intent to influence the elections. In every scenario – whether SOVA was involved or not – this story makes no sense.”
SOVA would have acted immediately
Stušek emphasised that if SOVA had officially suspected foreign services of influencing the elections, it would have been obliged to act through official channels and not wait months for the material to appear at a press conference, and certainly would not have handed such information to NGOs: “If they had data on meetings with Israeli services aimed at influencing the streets or the elections, this would long ago have become part of official prosecution. Clearly, that did not happen.”
According to him, this is a classic political tool deployed right before elections. He also pointed to double standards, specifically regarding the 8 March Institute, led by Nika Kovač, which is also funded by a foreign actor. “Absolutely. This is a big show for the public, not based on convincing evidence. Just like someone on television saying they are funded from abroad, that too is foreign influence. It is absurd […] Instead of dealing with the content and what we should do about it, we are discussing the staging and the alleged mastermind.”
In his view, 90 percent of the effort should be focused on what actually happened and how to sanction it, rather than on the 10 percent speculation about Israeli services and SOVA. “These actors are trying to confuse the electorate,” he said.
On the content of the recordings and the corruption aspect
Stušek described the content of the recordings that surfaced in recent days as “self‑explanatory”. “The content speaks for itself; it is difficult to comment on it further. In recent weeks, we have not heard any (reasonable) alternative explanation. The people appearing in the recordings should certainly be questioned by law‑enforcement authorities, regardless of the scenario. Whether someone was merely boasting about having access to “the right people” when they actually do not, which would be fraud, or whether it was a real attempt at inducement or abuse of official position. In both cases, it is a bad scenario that must be clarified.”