Student arrested ahead of Papal visit to Croatia
Publication Date: 2011-05-31
Cache of guns found but police have not confirmed if they have halted an assassination attempt on Holy Father
A Croatian student has been arrested after posting ‘weird’ comments about Pope Benedict XVI on Facebook ahead of the Papal visit to the country this weekend.
The arrest was made in the southern village of Skabrnja and the 22-year-old, who lives with his father, was found with two guns and 300 rounds of ammunition, according to police reports.
Croatian police have not confirmed whether they believe they halted an assassination attempt on the Holy Father, who is due to arrive in Zagreb on Saturday.
Prior to the incident, Vatican spokesman Fr Federico Lombardi said that the Pope feels at home in Croatia, a country with deep Christian and Catholic roots that has preserved with loyalty in difficult times.
“Today, Croatia faces the challenge of secularisation: the family and youth are crucial challenges it has to deal with,” Fr Lombardi said. “That’s why the central events of the Pope’s trip are his participation in the meeting with Croatian Catholic Families, and with young people.”
Pic: A man walks in front of a billboard featuring an image of Pope Benedict XVI in Zagreb, Croatia
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They arrested him based on some comments he posted on his facebook against the pope. The only thing he did is expressing his opinion. Is calling the pope ‘sick or garbage’ a call for assassination? They weren’t going to press any charges against him, only for the unregistered guns against the father but then suddenly the police changed their story. Zadar police actually said that the right to freedom of expression on the Internet is temporarily suspended, at least until the Pope leaves Croatia. Sources : index.hr and danas.hr but it’s all in croatian language.