COURT REJECTS CHARGES AGAINST MESIC OVER TRANSCRIPTS

ZAGREB, March 13 (Hina) - The State Prosecutor's Office for Zagreb Municipality has rejected charges Markica Rebic and the head of the HONOS association, Nenad Ivankovic, filed against Croatian President Stjepan Mesic accusing him of unauthorised recording and tapping of conversations as well as of revealing a state secret and making it available to a foreign country, says Wednesday's issue of the Jutarnji List daily. The daily reminds that the charges were filed following the publication of transcripts recorded at the Office of the Croatian President, including those of conversations between Rebic, the late Croatian president Franjo Tudjman and Ivic Pasalic, in a Jutarnji List issue. According to the State Prosecutor for Zagreb Municipality, Davorin Budin, the prosecution rejected the accusations after it established that the contentious documents were not labelled state secrets nor had a procedure for obtaining such a label been initiated. According to Budin, the prosecution believes it was a well-known fact that conversations at the President's Office were recorded, that the recording equipment was visible, which all visiting the office had to know, the daily says. (hina) rml