Croatian High Criminal Court rejects indictment against Sisak police officers

The High Criminal Court has definitively rejected an indictment from USKOK, halting proceedings against five police officers from Sisak and their supervisors. The group had been accused of firing shots at a vehicle in Mošćenica in November 2023 during a pursuit involving 23 kilograms of marijuana, and subsequently falsifying reports to claim the driver attempted to run them over.

The court determined that the indictment was based on two contradictory expert opinions: one from the Police Directorate and another from the Sisak police administration. Due to these conflicting views, the court concluded that a conviction would not be possible and found no conscious intent to abuse their positions among the officers.

Following the ruling, several police unions and criminalist associations issued a joint statement. They noted that the court's decision dismantled the claim that only the central Police Directorate's opinion is authoritative, emphasizing that local chiefs must also have weight in assessing the legality of weapon use. The unions called for an urgent review of the decision-making processes within the police and the state attorney's office to prevent unfounded criminal prosecutions.