Four arrested in the Zadar area are suspected of starting ten fires, and one of the suspects received 220,000 euros from the state. USKOK is investigating whether there are elements of terrorism.
New details are emerging daily about the four individuals arrested in the Zadar area, who are accused of setting ten fires at multiple locations. All four pleaded guilty in court on August 17, and SDSS president Milorad Pupovac also commented on the case.
The motives behind the arson at ten locations remain unknown, but investigators hope that data from mobile phones will shed light on the background. Until then, three Croatian citizens of Serbian ethnicity and the sister of one of them, married to a Pole, remain in custody. Shock prevails in Donje Biljane.
Aleksandar Vukša, president of the Donje Biljane local committee, says that due to work commitments, he was not often in contact with the suspects, but he did not get the impression that they were violent or problematic. He added that he is disgusted by the whole situation and cannot believe that such people exist, let alone that he knows them.
USKOK investigators are checking whether this case contains elements of terrorism. Angelo Žilić, the youngest civilian victim of the Škabrnja massacre, believes this is possible.
"It's no secret that certain residents of Biljane still harbor negative emotions toward the residents of Škabrnja, so this doesn't surprise me, but it makes me extremely angry. The discovery of weapons on the suspects supports this," Žilić stated.
The Agency for Payments in Agriculture confirmed that one of the suspects, Daniel Stegnjaić, has indeed received €220,000 from the Croatian state over the past nine years, and provided a complete payment schedule.
The four individuals brought to court yesterday did not have their own lawyers, so they were assigned defense counsel ex officio, although some have already requested their dismissal.
The SDSS president strongly condemned the arson but also warned against calls for violence based on nationality on social media.
"These four individuals, in the Zadar-Benkovac area, set fires in villages, including both predominantly Croatian and Serbian villages. In one of those villages-Biljane-one of the suspects lives. As far as we are concerned, they have caused great harm," Pupovac said.
Such acts carry a penalty of 6 months to 5 years in prison, although it is possible that the case may also involve elements of terrorism.
"I cannot say that all these events, especially given the tragic consequences, have not caused some concern, fear, and anxiety among citizens-absolutely they have. I cannot say that there has been a collapse of certain state structures, and I cannot rule out that this is terrorism," believes lawyer Ana Buljan.
Investigations are ongoing to determine who is behind the fire in Omiš and what the motives were. For the fire in Kaštela, police brought in two minors.
Spokesperson for the Split-Dalmatia Police Department, Antonela Lolić, stated that there is reasonable suspicion that on August 15, they used a lighter to set fire to cigarette rolling papers, threw them into dry grass, started a fire, and fled.
According to data from the Ministry of Interior, in the first eight months of this year, police recorded 2,434 open-space fires. In 141 cases, it was determined that they constituted a criminal offense or misdemeanor, and criminal charges were filed in all these cases.
