The prosecution has charged Rovisan with endangering life and property and illegal possession of arms and explosive devices, and asked for a prison sentence of two years and four months.
Rovisan confessed to the crime but denied that he was a member of the criminal underworld. As in his first interview with an investigating judge, Rovisan linked the incident to his testimony against Novica Petrac and Sinisa Soso, who were charged with beating him up and seriously injuring him in 2001 while he was a security staffer in a Zagreb casino.
Rovisan reiterated that he was carrying the hand grenade for protection after Soso asked him to change his testimony and settle. He added he had contacted the Office for the Suppression of Corruption and Organised Crime for help.
Rovisan said that on the day of the explosion, September 19, he noticed upon coming to work that the hand grenade fuse had loosened up and tried to fasten it with a plastic band. He added that while doing this, he accidentally dropped the hand grenade, but still managed to put a stack of newspapers over it and push everything under a desk.
Rovisan's superior at the embassy, Sasa Cimerman, described the defendant as an exceptionally good worker.
The trial will resume next week.
The explosion in the embassy mail room lightly injured Rovisan in the leg. He admitted to being the culprit the day after the blast. Subsequently it was learned that he had been convicted of a 1998 attempted robbery in his home town of Sisak.