Early this morning, investigators paid an unannounced visit to former Interior Minister and Vice-President of the Slovenian Democratic Party (Slovenska demokratska stranka – SDS), Aleš Hojs. According to the latest information, the investigation is being led by the Specialised State Prosecutor’s Office. As Hojs said during the investigation, he is suspected of having disclosed classified information to the Kavač clan in 2021 that an investigation was being conducted against its members, but he denied the allegations, saying that they were “nonsense.”
According to initial information posted by Hojs on the social network X, the investigation was led by the police. “6:06 a.m. … The police are at my home … House search … Elections are coming soon,” he posted early in the morning.
The incident, which occurred just six months before the announced parliamentary elections in Slovenia, immediately triggered a wave of reactions on social media. Hojs, who headed the Interior Ministry under Janez Janša‘s government between 2020 and 2022, hinted at political motivation behind the action in his post. The post was followed by comments from users who described it as an act of “terror” and “mafia-like behaviour”. Hojs was accused of communicating with the Kavač clan and betraying confidential information.
Hojs told the media that they suspect he allegedly received information from an unknown source at the police that a house search for the Kavač clan would take place in 2021, and he supposedly informed members of the Kavač clan of this. When asked by a journalist whether he had actually done so, he replied: “That’s a really stupid question.”
Janez Janša: The government is behind the investigation
“Early morning today, just a few months before the general elections in Slovenia, the government of the Republic of Slovenia, on the pretext of a ridiculous excuse, sent the police to search the house of the Vice-President of the SDS party, Mr Aleš Hojs. The SDS party is leading convincingly in public opinion polls, and the government led by Mr Robert Golob is struggling with extremely poor governance indicators, corruption and clientelism. In foreign policy, it openly flirts with Iran and defends HAMAS. It was only a matter of time before they would start imitating their methods,” said the SDS President Janez Janša in response to the events.
The Specialised State Prosecutor’s Office is headed by Darja Šlibar, who is the mother of Nika Podakar, the Secretary-General of the youth wing of the ruling Freedom Movement party (Gibanje Svoboda) and well-known Golob activist.
“They started terrorising people in their homes early on! Other members of the opposition can certainly expect a similar visit soon,” wrote one user, while another commented: “So that’s it. A police state. Is this about a verbal offence? Or even more than that. When did the comrades reintroduce it? Given that there is no institution in Slovenia that protects citizens from abuses by the current authorities, the key question is what the European Union will say about such provocations and harassment.”
Aleksander Reberšek from the New Slovenia party (Nova Slovenija – NSi) wrote: “The Freedom Movement party operates under the slogan: “We also do house visits.” They will visit everyone before the elections. But even that will not help them.”
“Golob’s government is sending a signal that the police have finally been purged of those who do not think exactly like them and that they can start doing whatever they want. The worse the unedited polls are, the more impatient and dangerous they become. Out of their weakness, they are now sending the police after the opposition,” wrote Nejc Brence from the Slovenian Democratic Youth (Slovenska demokratska mladina – SDM), the youth wing of the SDS party.
Dr Olaj: It appears that the matter is politically motivated
“He may be a person from whom they can obtain certain documents, but who is not a suspect at all,” former Director of the Police, Dr Anton Olaj, commented on the matter. “Whoever came up with this idea – with this search warrant – did so tactfully, wisely, and thoughtfully, keeping in mind possible accusations of political motivation. The prosecution is not even involved in this case. The prosecution probably also determines the course of events, the time frame, or the orders that are proposed and changed. It is difficult for me to say anything more than that, but everything indicates that the case is politically motivated.
Whoever is doing this should bear in mind that the matter is impartial. It should be taken into account that the judiciary should act impartially and independently. However, in recent years, the judiciary has not demonstrated this. Unfortunately, this is a shame for the judiciary itself. People’s trust in the judiciary is suffering – not only in the courts, but also in the prosecution service. I am therefore in favour of introducing the institution of a special prosecutor, modelled on the American system. In other words, a prosecutor who also prosecutes cases that current prosecutors do not want to pursue, ignore, or consider insignificant. Prosecutors often choose which cases to pursue, and we cannot do anything about it. In this case, it concerns a former minister, which is particularly sensitive. Such a policy undermines the judiciary, which must be impartial, professional, and independent.
Unfortunately, I have not seen the appearance of impartiality that we expect from the judiciary. I don’t want to point fingers at anyone, but given what we have seen, this is to be expected.”
At first, representatives of the media were able to freely observe the investigation, but then a decision was apparently made to close the street in front of Hojs’s house, and media representatives were pushed behind police tape.
T. B.
