Zagreb, May 6, 2026 (AFP)
A Croatian lawmaker, who resigned as a minister after being filmed firing at random from a moving car last year, arrived at court to face illegal weapons charges on Wednesday.
Josip Dabro -- a member of the nationalist right-wing Homeland Movement -- resigned in 2025 after a video surfaced of him firing a pistol out the passenger window of a moving car into the darkness.
The video sparked outrage in the Balkan nation, forcing him to step down as agriculture minister.
Later, another video emerged of the ex-minister, shirtless, firing an assault rifle into a field.
But he remains in parliament, with his party a junior partner in the conservative Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic's coalition government. Plenkovic governs with a razor-thin majority.
According to local media the trial, which is closed to the media, started in a municipal tribunal in the eastern town of Osijek.
AFP contacted the court but did not receive a response regarding the proceedings.
Dabro is accused of possessing illegal arms and an explosive device.
The 43-year-old is also charged with "endangering the safety of a child" for allegedly training his son to use firearms and an explosive device.
The trial is being held behind closed doors due to the involvement of his son, who was a minor at the time.
Dabro and his party have claimed the investigation was politically motivated, as a response to his accusations of corruption within Croatia's state-run forest management company.
Prosecutors have proposed a plea deal for Dabro, involving a one year jail term suspended for three years.

Sumber : AFP