By Vuk Tesija
Naked to the waist, Josip Dabro, former deputy prime minister and minister of agriculture, and now a member of Croatia’s parliament for the right-wing Homeland Movement, stands with a Kalashnikov in his hand in a clearing next to a cornfield
The screenshot went viral after it was published on Thursday by journalist Drago Hedl on the Telegram.hr website.
The former minister of agriculture was forced to resign after a video of him firing a gun through a car window was released two weeks ago.
Dabro had a permit for the gun but the screenshot of him holding a Kalashnikov poses bigger problems, as automatic weapons are illegal in Croatia.
After videos of the gun being fired went public, the Vinkovci Attorney’s Office announced that an investigation had been launched into the videos, which were exchanged in a closed WhatsApp group.
However, Croatian State Attorney Ivan Turudic then moved the investigation from Vinkovci to the Municipal Attorney’s Office in Osijek, in order to remove any doubt about impartiality, since Dabro lives in a village near Vinkovci in eastern Croatia.
Investigations into Dabro are being conducted on suspicion of illegal possession of weapons and violation of children’s rights – inciting a child to behave inappropriately for his/her age.
Hedl said a recording of Dabro with a Kalasnjikov also shows him telling a child that he will switch from single to automatic fire.
After the video of the gun incident was leaked, police searched Dabro’s house and the former minister handed over two weapons, allegedly pistols. No one mentioned a Kalashnikov.
After the screenshot with the Kalashnikov was made public, Dabro made a statement on Facebook, which focused on his fight for farmers’ rights.
“Each new video only strengthens our belief that we must persist in the fight for Croatian agriculture and solving the problems in the Croatian forests. The greater the pressure, the stronger we are. Thank you!” Dabro wrote.
As MP, he has immunity from criminal prosecution. However, this may be lifted by parliament.
“Every time a request came from the State Attorney’s Office, we proposed lifting immunity. We have never had anything like this before, but my view is that when a request to lift immunity comes from the State Attorney’s Office, then we vote to lift the immunity,” MP Robert Jankovics, chairman of parliament’s Mandate and Immunity Committee, told BIRN.
After the committee’s decision, the proposal must be voted on in parliament.
Jelena Milos, MP from Mozemo! (We Can!) and a member of the Mandate and Immunity Committee, told BIRN that no matter what happens to Dabro, his own party and the ruling Croatian Democratic Union, HDZ, should remove such people from parliament.
“It is extremely problematic for someone who has an illegal weapon and gives it to a minor to be a representative in parliament,” Milos said.