The Croatian public broadcaster HRT confirmed on Monday that the email over which Mirela Holy had resigned as Minister of Environment and Nature Protection originated from the HZ rail company and that it had nothing to do with political parties or PR agencies.
HRT said in a statement that its reporter, Sinisa Kovacic, was in possession of the email which clearly showed who was the source of the information and how he had come by it.
Kovacic refused to reveal his source and said he had no intention of discussing the matter in public.
HRT said it had broadcast the news that Holy had sent an email to the CEO of the HZ rail company, Rene Valcic, asking him to assist the wife of a party colleague, after verifying the authenticity of the letter.
HRT said it had called Holy and Valcic several times, but both had declined to comment.
"We believe that attempted favouritism in a public company is a scandal and it is the cause of the problem that has arisen. Everything that is happening now is an attempt at diverting attention from that scandal," HRT said in a statement, adding that it refused to be a weapon in conflicts between or within political parties.
Holy and the HZ Management Board separately pressed charges on Monday, demanding that the person responsible for leaking the email to the media be identified and punished accordingly.
