Secretary of State for National Security convicted of Islamophobic tweet (adds)
STAApril 11, 2022 – The Free Movement strongly condemned the tweet of the State Secretary for National Security in the Prime Minister’s Office Žan Mahnič, who described one of their candidates Failo Pašić as a “radical Islamist” and accused of opening the door to Islamization and Sharia law in Slovenia.
Tereza Novak, the second candidate of the Freedom Movement, who will run in the general elections on April 24, responded to Sunday’s tweet that it was an act of “promoting religious intolerance and spreading lies and hatred”. It was also an attack on a woman that Slovenia can be proud of, she told reporters on Monday.
Pašić, a well-known defender of humanitarianism and human rights, said the tweet “humiliated, humiliated and dehumanized” her. “This is an act that I condemn and ultimately fight against with my activism” and projects that have brought Slovenia international recognition, she said. Muslims are part of Slovenian society and strive for that, she warned.
In his tweet, Mahnič also wrote that the Freedom Movement will bring “mass imports of Arabs” to Slovenia. Both Pašić and the party are considering prosecuting him for defamation and incitement to hatred. Their legal representative Nataša Pirc Musar said the tweet was more criminal.
The tweet, published by a senior member of the ruling Democrats (SDS), “shows all elements of the discourse of extreme political groups, which should not have a place in Slovenian and European society,” Novak said. In addition, the fact that Mahnič is the state secretary for national security “is certainly not a mitigating circumstance”, added Pirc Musar.
Pašić finds it important to respond to such actions in order to combat hate speech and raise awareness of the mechanisms that can be used in this fight. The least Mahnič could do is apologize and delete the tweet, but “after decades of extremely negative comments about my work, my religious beliefs, my personal circumstances,” her tolerance threshold has been lowered, she added.
To this, Mahnič replied for RTV Slovenia and commercial RTV Slovenia and commercial RTV Slovenia and KANAL A that his tweet should be understood exclusively in the context of ensuring national security, the efforts for which he is responsible and informing the public.
He said that in 2014-2018, Pašić was discussed by the parliamentary commission for the control of intelligence and security services in connection with radical Islam and relations with foreign countries, including Iran.
Mahnič is not afraid of criminal charges, he states freedom of speech. He also stressed that he did not intend to offend anyone. If anyone feels offended, they apologize, he added.