PULA: JORAS DETERMINED TO STARVE UNTIL END OF IMPRISONMENT

PULA, Sept 1 (Hina) - The attorney of Josko Joras, who has been starving in a Pula prison for 11 days, told reporters after visiting his client on Sunday that Joras was determined to starve until the end of his sentence, "in the interest of the Republic of Slovenia." #L# Joras has lost eight kilos and looks weak but is firm in his decision to stick it out, said his lawyer Daniel Starman. Joras is a Slovene citizen who disputes Croatian sovereignty in the Istrian village of Mlini, his place of residence close to the border with Slovenia. Since 1999 he has been charged with petty offences seven times for failure to comply with customs and other regulations and to pay fines, which has resulted in the recent apprehension and a 30-day imprisonment. Attorney Starman said a prison guard prevented him from talking to Joras alone and interrupted them when the conversation turned to a protest Slovene cultural figures intended to stage in front of Joras's house yesterday. Starman reiterated that Joras was a political prisoner. Amnesty International, which has been notified about the case, is looking for further information, he said. Starman described yesterday's refusal by the Croatian police to let the Slovene protesters reach Joras's house in Croatia as an "excess of the police state of Croatia." The protesters' arrival had been organised by a committee on the protection of Slovene citizens before other states at the World Slovene Congress. Croatian police stopped them at the border because the rally had not been reported and the police could not guarantee their safety. (hina) ha