Prodanovic said the article appeared under the headline "Glas Koncila: Mesic was Udba Personnel Manager". Vecernji List carried the article in late June from the Glas Koncila religious weekly, although the attorney said the latter did not say that Mesic had worked for Udba.
"If Glas Koncila had said that, this would have been just a case of carrying false information, but since that was not written, this is a case of Vecernji List stating untruths," said Prodanovic, adding that if the president won the suit, he would give the damages to charity.
The lawsuit says that Mesic was never employed or did any work for Udba or the State Security Service and that therefore he could not have been an Udba personnel manager, as alleged by Vecernji List.
The lawsuit goes on to say that Mesic was exposed to political and criminal prosecution by ex-Yugoslav secret services and that the sole intention of linking him to Udba by Vecernji List's journalist and editor was to morally discredit the president of the republic and not to accurately carry the article from Glas Koncila.
Editor in chief Miljenko Manjkas told Hina no one had formally notified Vecernji List or its lawyers of the lawsuit. He dismissed the claim that the daily's intention was to discredit the president.
"I feel Vecernji List did its job professionally, carrying the writing of (Glas Koncila) and requesting a reaction from those at whom the finger was pointed," he said, adding that Vecernji List had offered Mesic space in the daily on that occasion and did so now as well.
"However, his office just insulted our editors and called for boycotting the daily," said Manjkas, adding that in the contentious article the newspaper referred to the "person who was arranging a job with the chief of a service" as "kadrovik" (personnel manager) as was commonplace at the time the article was referring to.
"Vecernji List respects the institution of President of the Republic of Croatia, but one of the fundamental tenets of democracy is the continued questioning of all public officials, in the public's interest," said Manjkas.
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