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Thousands of Croats demonstrated in the capital Zagreb on Saturday against what they say is government-sponsored corruption. The recent appointment of the top prosecutor under controversial lawyer Ivan Turudic sparked anger. Civilian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic (HDZ) has pushed through his election to parliament.

The square in front of Plenkovic’s official residence and the adjacent streets were full of people, Croatian media reported. Eleven parliamentary parties from the left-liberal opposition called for the protest.

After taking office, Turudic caused outrage by indicating that he did not want to cooperate with the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO). Croatia does not need EPPO representation, he said on television.

The EPPO, which has been active since 2021, aims to investigate cross-border crimes against the EU’s financial interests. 22 EU countries, including Croatia, are members. Countries ruled by right-wing populists, such as Hungary, refuse to join.

Ten days ago, the Croatian parliament elected Turudic as its top prosecutor, who until then had been a judge at the Supreme Court. At that time, there were already serious accusations against him: until her arrest in 2020, he had been in close contact with a politician from the ruling HDZ party suspected of corruption.

This is evident from hundreds of text messages between the two from the investigation files of the Public Prosecution Service, which became public last year. Turudic also admitted to being friends with ex-Dinamo Zagreb coach and former Bundesliga professional Zoran Mamic, who was convicted of corruption in Croatia. Mamic avoided his prison sentence by fleeing to Bosnia and Herzegovina. (saw/sda/dpa)