UMAG/ZAGREB, Dec 27 (Hina) - The magistrate's court in the northern Adriatic town of Umag on Friday received a police request to launch proceedings against Jozko Joras (52), a Slovene national living in the Croatian village of Mlini,
who displayed the Slovene flag on his house two days ago.
UMAG/ZAGREB, Dec 27 (Hina) - The magistrate's court in the northern
Adriatic town of Umag on Friday received a police request to launch
proceedings against Jozko Joras (52), a Slovene national living in
the Croatian village of Mlini, who displayed the Slovene flag on his
house two days ago. #L#
The court said that the Buje municipal police pressed charges
against Joras, who does not recognise Croatia's sovereignty over
Mlini, and that proceedings against him would be conducted in line
with regular procedure, to start with the scheduling of a hearing.
As last summer, Joras on Wednesday displayed the Slovene flag on his
house in Mlini, near the Croatian-Slovene border. Putting a foreign
flag on display without the previous consent of competent state
bodies constitutes an act of violation of the Law on Offences
Against Public Order and Peace, reads a police report.
Between mid-August and late September this year the police filed
charges against Joras for 24 different acts.
Joras was first reported to police on August 18, when he wrote
graffiti reading "This Is Slovenia" on his house. He was also
reported for refusing to stop his vehicle and produce his documents
on the Croatian-Slovene border crossing of Plovanija.
Joras did not respond to court summons and on November 15 the court
found him guilty of violating several laws and ordered him to pay
fines for each offence.
The verdict has become valid and if Joras fails to pay the fines,
they will be forcibly collected through the Tax Administration.
This summer Joras was sentenced to 30 days in prison for ignoring
summons for court hearings and refusing to pay his fines. During his
imprisonment, he went on a hunger strike but was released before the
expiry of his sentence following talks between Croatian and Slovene
officials.
(hina) rml