Dinamo football club executive director Zdravko Mamic, who was kept behind bars overnight after he had been questioned by the police on Friday evening about his invective against Sports and Education Minister Zeljko Jovanovic which was described by the prosecution as hate speech against the minister and ethnic Serbs, was released from custody on Saturday evening.
Zagreb County Court investigating judge Ljiljanka Maletic overturned a motion by the municipal prosecutor's office for the investigative detention for Mamic. Earlier on Saturday, the prosecution corroborated its proposal for keeping Mamic behind bars with an explanation that the suspect could repeat the same crime if being free and it also underscored the fact that Mamic had criminal records for breaching public peace as well as for violating traffic norms, all of which proves that Mamic can be considered as a man who disrespects the legal system.
The prosecutor finds Mamic accountable for inciting hatred of the minister Jovanovic and inciting intolerance and hatred of members of the ethnic Serb minority.
The prosecution also finds that Mamic's abusive language against Minister Jovanovic weighs heavily on the situation in the country ahead of the forthcoming qualifier between Croatia's and Serbia's national teams for the World Football Championship. The first fixture is scheduled for 22 March in Zagreb. The Zagreb municipal prosecutor's office recalls that in his public statements the suspect has shown his open intolerance of member of other minorities.
Upon his release from the detention in the police station, Mamic declined to address the press.
His lawyer Mate Matic welcomed the investigating judge's decision as the only possible fair decision.
Another counsel representing Mamic, attorney Ante Madunic, earlier told the press that this was an act of the conflict between Mamic and Jovanovic and that it should not be treated as "ethnically-motivated conflict".
Mamic on Friday uttered a series of insults against Jovanovic on Soundset Plavi Radio, claiming that the minister "hates everything that is Croatian" and that "as a Serb who never worked in education or sports, he can't run this most important department in Croatia." Mamic spent the night in custody after he was brought in for questioning by the police on Friday evening.
If found guilty, Mamic may serve a term of up to three years.
Mamic has been reported to the police on several occasions over the past two years for misdemeanour and criminal charges and is known for his excessive and insulting outbursts in public.
His latest verbal outburst was met with broad condemnation in Croatia.
