Today I got yet another piece of registered mail from the Municipal Court in Pazin. The quintessential blue envelope contains a letter with the court’s stamp and an indistinct signature, as well as a payment slip in two copies. The letter says that I must pay one-thousand kuna, or about one-hundred and forty euros, within eight days or I will go to jail. There is no explanation as to why I must pay this amount, but it probably has to do with the court expenses regarding the insult case filed against me by the mayor of Motovun, which I lost, at least for the time being. The letter also explains that the money will go to the Croatian state budget, and that I must send a copy of the payment slip to Pazin since the court is not notified about such payments. To add insult to injury, the letter does not contain the court’s address. Confusing as hell, to say the least. But I am about to pay the amount requested in due haste. Immediately, in fact. For there is no fooling around with the law in this country. All comers, beware of Croatia!

Addendum (October 1, 2016)

Having come across this piece on one of my uncharted journeys through my writings, I am surprised that no addendum extends it. For it surely should. Namely, I paid the amount requested the very same day I received the registered mail, and I sent the payment slip to the Municipal Court in Pazin, also by registered mail. Together with the payment slip, though, I sent a letter demanding an explanation for the unexpected payment. To this day, I have not received the court’s reply to this letter of mine. Not a word. Surprise, surprise. The best I could do under the circumstances was to add one-thousand kuna to the long list of my legal expenses in my case against Croatia submitted last year to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. If I win the case, which is my most sincere hope, I will eventually get the money back from the state. But I will never get an answer concerning the mysterious payment I was forced to make five years ago. Never ever. Indeed, beware of Croatia!