By: Ana Horvat (Nova24tv.si)
The publishing house “Nova Obzorja” (“New Horizons”) has filed a motion for an inspection of the work of Mojca Šetinc Pašek and Lenart Žavbi with the Information Commissioner, and a criminal charge with the Ljubljana District Court, on suspicion of attempted misuse of personal data and the suspicion of the criminal offence of treason and unjustified acquisition of business secrets.
According to the criminal charge, it is suspected that the Freedom Movement party (Gibanje Svoboda) MPs Mojca Šetinc Pašek and Lenart Žavbi, without legal or judicial basis and without the consent of the victims, jointly obtained unauthorised access to their personal data and business secrets.
Žavbi disclosed classified information
The two suspects allegedly abused their official position as chairperson (Šetinc Pašek) or member (Žavbi) of a Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry in order to cause unlawful damage to the weekly Demokracija and its subscribers. Taking into account that they are adults holding important positions, the criminal charge concludes that they were certainly aware of their actions, as they were also aware of the fact that their conduct was contrary to the law, prohibited and punishable. In light of all of the above, the conclusion of the indictment is that the offence was committed in complicity and with the culpable form of direct intent, which is given in respect of both accomplices.
The criminal indictment charges both MPs with several offences, noting that a member of the Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry for determining the political responsibility of holders of public office with regard to the alleged illegal financing of political parties during the 2022 elections, asked Jože Biščak, former editor-in-chief of the weekly Demokracija, about business secrets during the questioning, which Biščak pointed out and then refused to answer the question, but Žavbi persisted, and later confirmed in a statement that “they” had obtained the victim’s transaction accounts, and announced that he was aware of the information, which was a business secret.
On the basis of the formulated statement, the criminal charge concludes that several persons or all members of the Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry headed by Šetinc Pašek participated in the acquisition of personal and other secret information, which gives rise to reasonable grounds to suspect that the two Members of Parliament, in complicity, violated several articles of the Criminal Code; namely, the attempted offence of misuse of personal data, the offence of betrayal and unjustified acquisition of a business secret, and the offence of betrayal by abuse of an official position or official rights.
Criminal charges have been brought before the Ljubljana District Court, while the Information Commissioner has been asked to initiate an inspection of the entire Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry.