Will former Croatian Minister of Defense Mario Banožić be sentenced to four years and 11 months in prison for causing a fatal car accident on November 11, 2023, due to negligence? No, that's not true: Banožić, who has now been removed from his duties, is still in the hospital in serious condition. An investigation led by the State Attorney's Office of the Republic of Croatia is underway but details and evidence against Banožić are not public at this stage, nor is the former minister's current condition. The police filed criminal charges but no information on an upcoming trial has been released yet.
The claim appeared in a TikTok video (archived here) on November 12, 2023, under the title (translated from Croatian to English by Lead Stories staff): "Saturday at 6:15 am a worker goes to work, but the aristocracy goes hunting. We've seen it all before."
It opened:
He will get 4 years and 11 months so that he does not have to go to prison immediately. He will probably receive an invitation to serve his prison sentence in two or three years. Due to his health condition, that sentence will be postponed for another year or two ... There will be no conditions in the prison system for him to be treated there, so it will be postponed for another year or two ... When he finally gets the call to serve his sentence, he will probably be sent to Pula, Valtura, to an open type prison, where he will be released to go home every weekend ... Exemplary rule, two and a half years and he's out ... Saturday at 6:15 in the morning, the Croatian worker goes to work, and the aristocracy goes hunting. My condolences to the family of the deceased, and I wish Minister Banožić a speedy recovery.
This is what the post looked like on TikTok at the time of writing:
(Source: TikTok screenshot taken on Tue Nov 14 09:11:47 2023 UTC)
Banožić caused a fatal traffic accident on November 11, 2023, when he was going hunting early in the morning and his SUV collided with a van. The van's driver, Goran Šarić, was killed. The doctors who admitted Banožić to the hospital said on November 11, 2023, that his injuries were serious, but his life was not in danger, and that he had no memory of the accident.
The police filed criminal charges against him for manslaughter due to a negligent traffic accident. The director of the hospital in Vinkovci where he was admitted, Krunoslav Šporčić, said that the minister had serious physical injuries and a brain contusion, but that he was conscious when he arrived at the hospital. Prime Minister Andrej Plenković issued a statement on the same day, saying (translated from Croatian to English by Lead Stories staff): "In these extraordinary circumstances, I relieved Minister Banožić of his duties as Minister of Defense and authorized Zdravko Jakop to perform all duties as State Secretary."
The investigation led by the State Attorney's Office of the Republic of Croatia is non-public, and no information has been released yet on an upcoming trial or on what sentence he would face.
