Social Democratic Party (SDP) leader Zoran Milanovic on Saturday commented on the dismissal of charges against the SDP Mayor of Rijeka, Vojko Obersnel, in the case of the city's fresh produce market operator Trznice Rijeka, saying that the case was politically motivated.
"This was obviously about pure politics, about political police and persecution of people. At the end of the day, no one will answer for filing obviously false charges," Milanovic told reporters before an election rally of the SDP-led opposition coalition in the coastal city of Sibenik.
Milanovic recalled that some 20 months ago the police had brought charges within less than a month against three mayors all of whom, "accidentally or not", were members of the SDP Presidency. Charges against the Mayor of Koprivnica, Zvonimir Mrsic, and the Mayor of Velika Gorica, Tonino Picula, were dropped very soon, while those against Obersnel dragged out for 20 months, he added.
"What conclusions can we make from this? I can only say that we will not behave like that - the police will not be doing political work," Milanovic said.
The Osijek County Prosecutor's Office on Friday dismissed as groundless all charges filed by the Primorje-Gorski Kotar County Police Department against Obersnel and three other persons. They were accused of defrauding the City of Rijeka budget of HRK 80 million by abusing their powers and signing harmful contracts.
The State Prosecutor's Office (DORH) said on its website on Friday that the 1996 concession agreement was signed in accordance with a Rijeka City Council decision of 10 June 1996, that it was not harmful to the City of Rijeka, and that it did not enable Trznice Rijeka to make illegal gain.
