"I will not apologise, I have no reason to do that. You did not really expect me to apologise for my words in the courtroom?" Turudic told reporters outside the Zagreb County Court on Tuesday, adding that incumbent Parliament Speaker Boris Sprem, who demanded a public apology from Turudic, had exceeded his powers. Turudic also said this was yet another form of pressure on the judicial authority which was not good for anyone.

Sprem on Monday sent a letter to Supreme Court President Branko Hrvatin saying that Turudic had insulted and belittled the Parliament with his statement to Bebic. Sprem believes that Turudic should publicly apologise to the Parliament.

"The parliament speaker criticised me for no good reason, namely over a sentence I said in court that was completely taken out of context," Turudic said, adding that the duty of a presiding judge was to ensure order in court.

"I followed the law to the letter and didn't violate it at any moment. It is necessary to say that Bebic was questioned in connection with his activities as parliament speaker and I really don't see where my mistake was, which the incumbent parliament speaker is accusing me of, without arguments," Turudic said.

Turudic said that Bebic expressed his dissatisfaction with a question by the prosecutor and reacted very impulsively, which was why he had to warn him that he was not in parliament but in a courtroom where different rules applied.

"In Croatia, a parliamentary democracy based on the rule of law and separation of powers, Sprem is ordering the Supreme Court president to summon me and order me to apologise to him, or even to all voters. I believe that such behaviour is not contributing to the strengthening of the principle of separation of powers," the Zagreb County Court president said.