Croatian Judiciary Enters Dark Age of One-Party Control Unprecedented since the Independence of the Croatian State
Today the Republic of Croatia has lost yet another independent institution as the State Attorney’s office of the Republic of Croatia (DORH) was taken over by Ivan Turudić, who has publicly and unequivocally declared his closeness and allegiance to the HDZ. The new State Attorney was chosen solely by the will of Andrej Plenković and the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) with the political assistance of a handful of MPs unconditionally loyal to the HDZ both now and in the past.
The HDZ, through “their guy” Ivan Turudić, has taken control of the key institution of criminal prosecution in the Republic of Croatia, which is contrary to the constitutional definition of the role of DORH as an independent and autonomous judicial body. In addition to putting DORH under party control, Andrej Plenković and the HDZ have also taken control over proceedings because they have previously adopted Lex AP, which aims not only to prevent the publication of information about investigations, but also to punish those who publicly disclose such information.
The purpose of “Lex AP” is to prevent public oversight of the work of prosecution institutions, thereby enabling Turudić to independently decide, without any oversight whatsoever, who is to be prosecuted and who is not. Thus, the messages he exchanged with Josipa Rimac would never become public because anyone disclosing them would be prosecuted by the same Turudić. For the HDZ and Turudić corruption is not a problem as long as it is not publicly discussed. The Croatian judiciary has entered a dark age of one-party control unprecedented since the Croatian state gained independence.
The imposition of Ivan Turudić as state attorney general, despite all warnings and information proving that he, as a court president, clandestinely met and socialized with a man under investigation by that same court, thus permanently disqualifying himself for this office, cannot and will not become an acceptable and permissible model of governance in Croatia. There is no political, professional, or moral statute of limitations that can wash away from Ivan Turudić such staining of the judicial profession and his unethical behaviour. Therefore, nothing will justify his appointment, just as Andrej Plenković and the HDZ and their yes-men will not be able to rid themselves of the label of protectors of crime and corruption.
Independent and autonomous institutions, including DORH, free from the HDZ’s party yoke, must be an imperative of political action for all those who want the well-being of the Republic of Croatia. The arbitrariness of Andrej Plenković and the HDZ, whose goal is to dominate the entire state, warns us that it is even more important today to defend the institutions of the Croatian state.