By: Sara Bertoncelj / Nova24tv
More than obvious, the prosecutor’s office in Slovenia is one of the main instigators of intolerance and hatred. The Maribor Police Administration filed a complaint against the suspect, who on Facebook, among other things, threatened Prime Minister Janez Janša that the people of Maribor would help him leave, and informed him that security in the Styrian region was no longer guaranteed for him. The District State Prosecutor’s Office in Maribor rejected the criminal complaint on the grounds that the act was not directed against deprived, endangered and vulnerable groups of people and that no elements of incitement to hatred were found in the suspect’s conduct. Interestingly, on the other hand, the prosecutor is of the opinion that prosecution constitutes a certain form of violence.
“Now, dear JJ: Message from Maribor: The vast majority in Maribor think that it is high time to leave on your own, the vast majority also think that we can help you (there will be no problems with leaving) … you get the first gold medal because you helped the Americans break the Yugo… but I am not a supporter of either this system or your current one… I ask you to fuck off far away with everyone from the SDS party and also with all your followers in the current government. P.S.: Fuck your mother in the mouth of the damn fucking kidnapper of the country!!! You are no longer welcome here… security in the Styrian region is no longer guaranteed to you,” Kristjan Hribar wrote “kindly” to Prime Minister Janez Janša on Facebook.
Believe it or not, the District State Prosecutor’s Office in Maribor rejected the criminal complaint of the Maribor Police Administration, claiming that the announced act was not a criminal offense for which the perpetrator is being prosecuted ex officio. The police administration suspected him of a criminal offense of public incitement to hatred, violence or intolerance, pursuant to the first paragraph of Article 297 of the Criminal Code (KZ-1). This paragraph states that “anyone who publicly incites hatred, violence or intolerance based on national, racial, religious or ethnic origin, sex, skin colour, origin, wealth, education, social status, political or other belief, disability, sexual orientation or any other personal circumstance, and the act is committed in a manner which may endanger or disturb public order and peace, or by the use of threats or insults, shall be punishable by imprisonment for up to two years”.
This crime, which can be committed by anyone, must be committed in public, and is represented by situations in which the perpetrator provokes, calls or incites to a dangerous state (element of encouragement) or spreads an existing dangerous state or potentiates such a state (element of spreading). By posting the said record on his open Facebook profile, to which every Facebook user had access, the suspect undoubtedly acted publicly, i.e. in such a way that the message has (or could) reach the general public or an indefinitely open circle of people, the court wrote.
It is clear from the record that it is directed against the victim Ivan Janša, as he addresses “JJ”, which is a well-known abbreviation for Ivan Janez Janša, the Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia, the prosecution found. Furthermore, it can also be deduced from the record that the record is directed against members of the SDS party. According to the prosecution, this is not a deprived, endangered and vulnerable social group – as the SDS party has led the Slovenian government three times, and the president of this party is also the Prime Minister. According to the first paragraph of KZ-1, the criminal offense is directed against deprived, endangered and vulnerable groups of people.
According to the prosecutor, prosecution is a form of violence – which should be avoided if possible
The prosecution also assessed that no elements of incitement to hatred were found in the suspect’s conduct. Although the announcement was made public, it is not clear from the record that he intended to provoke aggression, a violent response from dissidents or to call for actions that would be detrimental to society as a whole and to public order and peace, wrote District State Prosecutor Mateja Artenjak. According to her, law enforcement also represents a certain form of violence, so criminal repression must be the last resort for the state to react. According to her, the record could be described as the least unsympathetic and primitive – but such speech is protected under Article 39 of the Constitution, which speaks of freedom of expression of thought, speech and so on. Elements of the criminal offense of defamation could be given in the suspect’s conduct, and the prosecution begins with a private lawsuit (among other things, if the act was committed against officials of the Republic of Slovenia).
