STA, 7 October 2021 - The home of Zoran Stevanović, one of the principal initiators of protests against the Covid pass mandate, and the headquarters of his party Resni.ca (Truth) were searched on Thursday after Stevanović was detained by police after Tuesday's riots on suspicion of incitement to resistance.
Criminal investigators appeared at Stevanović's home on Thursday morning, according to reports by TV Slovenija, and the investigation continued at the headquarters of his party Resni.ca in the centre of Kranj.
The investigators, along with Stevanović and his lawyer, left the building after an hour and a half, according to media reports. He was released today after the house searches ended.
The police explained to the STA that they were unable to disclose precise information due to the protection of personal data.
However, they did confirm that the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) carried out two house searches today.
Criminal investigators from Kranj, the Criminal Police Directorate and the NBI, who had taken charge of the investigation on Wednesday, were all involved in the procedures.
The NBI, which normally deals with the most serious cases of white-collar crime, took over the investigation due to "the large amount of unreviewed footage, a short time frame, and providing enough police officers to carry out the required investigative actions".
Incitement to resistance is a crime punishable by up to three years in prison.
According to media reports, Stevanović turned himself in to the police on Tuesday.
Resni.ca said after the protest that Stevanović had been "under constant threat from the police that he would be arrested for the duration of the protest".
In the same message, they also distanced themselves from Tuesday's events, while Stevanović said at the rally that he was not using the protests for political campaigning.
Today, the party said it would no longer organise rallies because that would "jeopardise Zoran's liberty".
