Over morning coffee, I am talking with Horst Schneider and Mura Kalčić about my upcoming trial in Pazin. Horst is most concerned about my predicament, and I am trying to make him laugh. “Heck,” I wink at him, “I will have something to write about!” When he smiles, I feel that I am on the right track. “Imagine,” I continue with some enthusiasm, “I will be able to write about my judge, a certain Denis Hek!” Now Mura throws up her arms and laughs out loud: “I know him!” Horst and I look at her, question marks over our heads. “I do know him,” she laughs again, “and he is a really nice guy!” Now Horst, too, is laughing. Truth to tell, I feel a bit better about my trial, as well. The court in Pazin suddenly becomes a bit more acceptable, a bit more humane than only a moment ago.

Addendum I (February 9, 2009)

A few days after this was penned I learned a couple of additional things about the judge I now habitually call mine. Most important, he is a staunch supporter of the political party that rules Istria ever since independence—that is, almost twenty years now. And this is the very party that has been holding all the reins of power in Motovun, as well. In addition, he went to school with the mayor’s younger brother. Apparently, they are good friends still. This is what I learned a week or so before I found myself in front of the judge. During the court proceedings, he struck me as professional and fair. Tall and burly, he even struck me as an affable fellow in his spare time. In short, no complaints on my side, at least for the time being. I can only hope that this is how I will remember him for years to come. As I said, now he is my judge, too.

Addendum II (October 5, 2015)

Although I am not eager to add anything on the subject of Denis Hek, my Pazin judge, this piece and the first addendum are irksome in their jolliness. So many years later, there is nothing jolly about my experience with the Croatian courts. And Hek remains the only judge I have met in person, which makes him a sui generis personification of the entire judicial system in my mind. Everything I have learned about him in the intervening years is that he has been one of the most eager judicial supporters of the Istrian Democratic Assembly, the leading political party on the peninsula since independence. Whatever the party needs done in courts, legal or otherwise, will be accomplished by judges like Hek. My case was thus sealed before it even started. I had to be thwarted in my fight against crooked golf in Motovun, Istria, and Croatia as a whole, and he was there to do his bit. And by law, no less. Predictably, all the higher Croatian courts ultimately agreed with Hek’s original decision, which was that I was guilty of insult, but not of libel. My only and last chance at this juncture is the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, but Hek and people like him will ultimately be untouched by that court’s final decision, which I expect sometime next year. The judicial system in Croatia remains the bastion of the political system. And an impregnable one. Something to write about, to be sure.

Addendum III (November 15, 2021)

In the end, as it were, I won in Strasbourg (“Three Cheers for Strasbourg!” March 18, 2021). Although the Croatian authorities quickly reimbursed me for my expenses over thirteen years of legal turmoil, the verdict of the court in Pazin remained untouched. By law, I was still a criminal on account of my cockroach insult of the then mayor of Motovun. My lawyer thus wanted to fix things by asking the court to withdraw its verdict because of the final decision in Strasbourg. I agreed, but only if I would not have to go to court ever again. To my chagrin, I was invited to the first session of the court on this matter, which was to take place this morning. If I failed to come, the invitation warned in quite some detail, I could be brought there by the police or would end up in jail. Amazingly enough, the judge presiding over this case was Denis Hek once again. When my lawyer and I arrived to the court a few hours ago, Hek informed us that the session had to be postponed because everyone in the office of the lawyer representing the former mayor was in self-isolation since one of them was infected by the novel coronavirus. Goran Veljović was not only representing the mayor and the Municipality of Motovun at the time, but he also wrote the law of eminent domain for Ivo Sanader, which proclaimed that golf was a sport of national interest (“By Way of Introduction: My Plea to the Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg,” March 17, 2015). Anyhow, the postponed court session will take place in a month, and I will have to face the partisan judge one more time. Alas, something to write about for who knows what time!

Addendum IV (April 4, 2022)

Hard to believe, but the crucial court session in Pazin was postponed five more times (Addendum of March 18, 2022, to “Three Cheers for Strasbourg,” March 18, 2021). To be precise, the dates moved forward pretty quickly: December 14, 2021, January 27, 2022, March 9, 2022, March 23, 2022, and April 4, 2022. Miraculously, today’s session was not postponed, and I was there together with my lawyer. The former mayor’s lawyer was also there. The session took no more than half an hour, as well. My lawyer pointed out that Strasbourg’s decision had to be followed by the Croatian courts, and that was that. In the end, we were informed by Denis Hek, the presiding judge, that the Pazin court’s decision in this case would be made in no more than three days. One way or another, this was pretty good news.

As the session ended, the judge addressed me one more time. Leafing through some papers on his desk, he mentioned that I had written something about his association with the Istrian Democratic Assembly. With a smile on his face, he suggested that this was far from the truth, but that he would not pursue me on account of this false allegation of mine. Realizing that he was actually leafing through my book about my struggle with Croatian courts, I said a few words to the effect that I had heard about his political affiliations from several sources, but that such things could never be proved. In the end, he got up from his desk, and we shook hands. He was all smiles.

My lawyer drove me back to Motovun, and we had a chance to talk a bit more about the most likely outcome of today’s session. We agreed that my struggle was most likely about to finish soon. Judging by the behavior of the judge who has taken care of my case for fourteen years, I am in pretty good shape. Even though I feel a bit awkward about my unexpected optimism, I certainly hope that I will see Denis Hek never again. Or any other Croatian judge, for that matter. And I will do everything in my power not to cross lines with politicians in this godforsaken country ever again. The judiciary behind them is too scary for shenanigans of any description. The link between the twain is unbreakable, no doubt whatsoever.