In a statement issued on Tuesday evening, the ministry said that it had requested the Umag court not to act on the Slovene request because "it is harmful to the sovereignty of the Republic of Croatia".
The Slovene request to question David Bajok from Savudrija was forwarded to the Magistrates' Court in Umag on the basis of an agreement on legal assistance in civil and criminal actions that was signed by the two countries.
The Slovene request read that the event over which the questioning was requested occurred in an area under Slovene jurisdiction, however, the Croatian Foreign Ministry subsequently informed the Justice Ministry that the disputed event occurred in the Croatian territorial waters, which was why on December 30, 2004, Croatia sent a protest note to Slovenia for violation of the sea border.