Former SOA chief for 24 hours: ‘The soldier had to pass the check, here’s what everything is checked …’
One of the two men arrested on suspicion of committing the criminal offense of a serious murder in Zagreb’s Markusevac, a member of the Croatian Armed Forces, deployed to an elite honorary battalion, confirmed earlier Ministry of Defense (MOD). It is about Matija M., and due to the fact that it is an active soldier, military police, in addition to the Zagreb Police Directorate staff, is involved in the criminal investigation.
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The circumstance that one of the suspected members of the military unit in charge of the most serious security tasks, including the protection of the President of the Republic, caused inquiries over security procedures within the system.
Former Operation Manager at the Security Intelligence Agency (SOA), Ante Leticaexplained to us how rigorous security checks preceded the entry into the honorary-protective battalion.
– Must go through a complete security check. SOA and VSOA are included. A complete life, customs, character, tendency, is criminally recorded, whether he is prone to enjoying alcohol or drugs – explained Letica, adding that everything that could be an obstacle to entering one such system.
The honorary battalion, established as a decent unit of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Croatia, performs the most sensitive task of protection and insurance of the state and military leadership, and ceremonial duties. Among their most important tasks is the insurance of the President of the Republic, who is also the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces.
Letica notes that for each member of the honorary-protective battalion, extensive and detailed security checks had to be carried out. The military security agency (VSOA) plays a key role, often in collaboration with SOA. If there was a failure, Letica adds, the check may not have been thorough enough or certain indicators simply overlooked.
– It can also happen that a person falls into some financial or psychological problems during his life without anyone noticing that. Such things sometimes get out of the control system – he said.
Although there is no announcement for now that a formal investigation into the security check procedure of this soldier will be conducted, Letica believes that the investigation in a broad sense will still have to cover this aspect, as a person with a suspicious or perhaps an unrecognized past has come to a position within a sensitive safety apparatus of the state.
