After being informed about the incident on the Croatian-Slovene border, Poettering telephoned Podobnik, the leader of the Slovene People's Party, to clarify what happened, the EPP-ED said in a press release on Thursday.
Poettering said he personally knew Podobnik, who had been an observer in the EPP-ED group, as a very credible person and that the conduct by Croatian police was completely unacceptable.
Croatian police on Wednesday afternoon arrested a group of 12 Slovenes near the Plovanija border crossing and kept them in custody for several hours. Podobnik was among them. They were returning from Buje, Croatia, after visiting Jozko Joras, a controversial Slovene politician who does not acknowledge that his house is on Croatian territory.
Slovenia's news agency STA carried a statement by Podobnik's party earlier today saying he received treatment at a Ljubljana hospital where the doctor who examined him said that during arrest Podobnik received blows to the nape and left shoulder.
Istria County police spokeswoman Stefanija Prosenjak-Zumber yesterday refuted Slovene media claims to the effect that Podobnik was hurt during arrest. She referred to the findings of a doctor in Buje who, under the law, is obliged to examine every person arrested with the use of physical force and handcuffs.
Poettering said there was no reason to suspect that Podobnik gave Croatian border police reason to act in such inappropriate fashion. Poettering said that was no way to resolve border issues, particularly in light of the fact that Croatia is a European Union candidate.
The EPP-ED press release said Poettering urged the Croatian side to resolve border issues peacefully and in friendly neighbourly fashion.