Zagreb County Court has turned down a request by the prosecution to put Dinamo footbal cub executive director Zdravko Mamic into investigative detention after he was charged with inciting hatred and violence against the ethnic Serb minority with his invective against Croatian Education and Sports Minister Zeljko Jovanovic.
The prosecution corroborated its request for 30-day investigative custody in this case with the fear that the suspect might repeat the criminal offence.
The Dinamo executive was detained in custody last Saturday after he was arrested and questioned by the police this past Friday (15 March) over his verbal outbursts against Minister Jovanovic whom he branded as "a hater of all that is Croatian" during his interview with a Zagreb-based radio station.
After spending some 16 hours behind bars, the investigating judge in that case ruled that Mamic be released, and the prosecution appealed against her decision.
The criminal proceedings are under way.
