Croatian police have arrested members of an opposition party for using the popular social network, Facebook, to comment on and plan against the Prime Minister of the country, Ivo Sanader.
A few days ago, the President of the local branch of the youth wing of the main opposition party in Dubrovnik, Mr. Niksa Klecak, was imprisoned for setting up an anti-Sanader forum. He had started a group called “I bet I can find 5,000 people who dislike Sanader”. He was arrested on charges of disturbing the peace, under the cover of an old law that had been laid down in the then nation of Yugoslavia.
The police also said that he had put up a photo of Mr. Sanader wearing a Nazi uniform.
A few days later, another man was called in for questioning in the city of Zagreb, for sending out posters through Facebook for an anti-government protest that was being planned. The BBC reports that these posters were received by almost 60,000 members of the opposition.
The Prime Minister has been reported to have said that he deplored the use of Nazi symbols for the purpose of political satire.
However, he asked his Interior Minister, Tomislav Karamarko, to conduct an enquiry along with the Police Director Vladimir Faber, regarding the above mentioned incidents.
He said, “No one should be detained or arrested in Croatia for expressing different views. This is not about this or that government or party, but about freedom.”
The country is being closely watched by members of the European Union for changes in their justice system, as Croatia hopes to be included in the union soon.
