Stevanović posted Golob's phone number, now detectives are in his office

Zoran Stevanović on Tuesday posted a photo of a note covered in handwriting and two phone numbers. One of them was the number of Robert Golob. On Thursday morning, two detectives from the National Investigation Bureau (NPU), the police's criminal investigation unit, arrived at the office of the Speaker of the National Assembly (DZ).

What he posted

The Speaker of the National Assembly and leader of the Resnica party wrote on Tuesday evening:

"Well, now it's my turn. For half a year I have been under pressure from the mafia that nobody could withstand." (translated)

He added a photo of a note covered in handwriting to the post. It shows two phone numbers: one next to the name Janez, with the surname blacked out, the other without a name and fully visible. Stevanović challenged Golob to say whose handwriting it is and everything he had offered. He added that everything is clear to him, "every transfer".

Stevanović did not name the owner of the revealed number. That it is Golob's was revealed by his wife, Tina Gaber Golob. The Svoboda party said that Golob had to change his number because of threats and numerous calls from unknown numbers, and that he will report Stevanović to the competent institutions for publishing personal data.

What is confirmed about the visit

Two NPU detectives visited Stevanović on Thursday in his office in the National Assembly. According to the portal 24ur, they held an informative interview with him. The office said they were gathering information and evidence related to his post on social media.

The police confirmed far less:

"We can only confirm that, on the basis of public posts, NPU investigators have begun gathering information and checking whether there are grounds for suspicion that a criminal offence has been committed that is prosecuted ex officio." (translated)

The police did not reveal which offence it could be or whom the suspicions concern. According to the portal Siol, the office later added that this is not an investigation against Stevanović. It offers no further explanation.

Stevanović wrote on social media that detectives visited him because they are investigating Golob. In front of the camera he would not confirm whether Golob is suspected of bribery.

"The police should look into that." (translated)

The police did not confirm this claim.

What is unofficial and what is denied

The portal Info360 reported, citing unofficial information, that after the election Stevanović was allegedly offered a large sum to join Golob's coalition, with part of it allegedly going to the water polo federation that Stevanović had led. The go-between was allegedly Celje businessman Janez Škoberne. He told the portal that he knows nothing about any bribery attempt, has nothing to do with politics, and has never met or spoken with Golob. By his account, he saw the note from the photo for the first time on social media.

Svoboda rejected the claims:

"This is the spreading of untruths and lies." (translated)

If the allegations continue, Svoboda says it will use all legal means to protect its good name.

What we don't know

The public does not know what the note says, whose handwriting it is, or what was supposedly offered. Stevanović told POP TV that Golob gave him the paper right after the failed coalition talks at Svoboda's headquarters, but he does not reveal the reasons. He also did not say who the mafia pressuring him is. By his account, these are "parallel, financial power structures" that are hard to name.

So three things are confirmed: the post, Golob's number and the detectives' visit. Everything else is, for now, a claim by the Speaker of the National Assembly, which the other side rejects.