Darko Horvat (L), Croatian minister of Construction, leaves home accompanied by police in Donja Dubrava, Croatia, on Feb. 19, 2022. Horvat was arrested on Saturday for suspected abuse of power when he was minister of economy in 2018. (Vjeran Zganec Rogulja/PIXSELL via Xinhua)
ZAGREB, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- Croatia's Minister of Construction Darko Horvat was arrested on Saturday for suspected abuse of power when he was minister of economy in 2018.
Following the arrest, Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic held an impromptu news conference and called on the Office of the State Attorney General (DORH) to explain the case in greater detail.
"I expect the DORH to inform the public why it is so urgent to arrest the minister," Plenkovic said, urging the DORH to provide supporting evidence for its unusual move.
"We will examine this topic in detail, and I expect the State Attorney's Office, which alone knows what this is about, to explain the haste," Plenkovic said.
"At the moment, this move seems disproportionate to me, but I am sure they are taking care to work legally," Plenkovic added.
Plenkovic acknowledged that if a minister gets arrested, he or she cannot remain in the post.
Alongside Horvat, Croatia's Deputy Prime Minister Boris Milosevic and former Minister of Agriculture Tomislav Tolusic also face criminal investigations, according to local media. ■
