Ostojić: I am on the front pages to cover up something much more important

Interior Minister Ranko Ostojić stated that, alongside the alleged wiretapping scandal, it quietly goes unnoticed that those who provided information and those who transmitted it have fallen.

In an interview with Novi list, Ostojić emphasizes that the investigation into the data leak continues and that he supports the police, and that in the next step of the criminal investigation, it could and should be investigated who the ultimate client is and with what purpose. He believes that those who are trying to stop the police in their investigations should be on the front pages, not him.

When asked by journalists if he would offer his resignation, Minister Ostojić said he would do so if the police had not been lawfully doing their job. When asked why he has been targeted by the media in recent days, Minister Ostojić assessed that he is being targeted without justification, that it is a witch hunt aimed at sending a message to the police or intimidating them. When asked what he thinks about where the ‘story about the apartment’ was ‘dug up’ and whether the story about the apartment is a spin to shift the narrative from breaking up criminal circles to something entirely different, the minister emphasized that he is now on the front pages and receiving five pages of coverage to cover up what is much more important, which is that a serious breach of the information that the police had occurred.

Ostojić stated that the police have not withdrawn but have continued their criminal investigation in cooperation with the prosecution, uncovered couriers, and that he believes they will finish the job to the end. He said he is prepared for new private data about him to emerge in the media. I can only say that we have not seen any evidence that the numbers for listing were altered. A story has been constructed that I ordered the wiretapping of intelligence agency leaders, he asserted, and asked – ‘Where is the document in which I ordered that, where are the altered numbers?

He added that the police successfully carried out a cleanup within their own ranks and that when it was noticed that the data leak continued, they continued to investigate. He believes that those who are trying to stop the police in criminal investigations should be on the front pages, not him. Minister Ostojić also spoke about the apartment in Zagreb where he lives. When asked if he sees a problem in living in the apartment of Ninoslav Pavić’s company, who is the owner of EPH, he stated that the rental relationship was duly paid by the Croatian Parliament, and now by the Ministry of the Interior, that there is no conflict of interest, that everything is clear, known, and transparent.