Following Friday's statement by former Croatian Prime Minister who now sits in the national parliament Ivo Sander, the Croatian Judges' Association said in a statement on Saturday that "this is not the first time that Sanader had linked the work of courts and judges in concrete cases with political consequences of certain judicial decision, criticising the judicial authority of taking political sides and making decisions following political orders".
"To accuse our colleague Ivan Turudic without evidence and an ounce of shame that he made a ruling following a political order, represents one of the harshest attacks on the constitutional position of judges and the judicial authority," the judges association said in a statement.
"To protect the dignity of the judicial authority and the interest of citizens who appear before courts, such an accusation requires a reaction of all three branches of power," the association said,
Sanader on Friday called on parliament to set up a commission to probe allegations made by Damir Polancec that Vladimir Seks, a Sabor Deputy Speaker and vice-president of the ruling Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ), had offered him a more lenient sentence if he accused Sanader of white collar crime.
Sanader also demanded that such a commission should also investigate the role of current Prime Minister and HDZ leader Jadranka Kosor in the case.
The best example is the case of Damir Polancec, who was blackmailed and offered freedom in return for a false testimony against me, Sanader said, adding that Judge Ivan Turudic obviously was to have had a role in this, Sanader said.
