Former Slovenian premier Janez Jansa was on Wednesday sentenced to two years in prison after being found guilty of giving and receiving backhanders in the eurozone country's biggest-ever defence deal. Jansa, prime minister until February, was found "guilty on the charges of giving or receiving bribery or bribery promises in the acquisition of armoured vehicles" from Finnish defence firm Patria, judge Barbara Klajnsek ruled.
Jansa, who has protested his innocence and has slammed the lengthy trial as a political witch-hunt, said he would appeal, meaning the year-old will not be put behind bars for now.
Several hundred of his supporters held a demonstration outside the Ljubljana courthouse afterwards, brandishing banners slamming the verdict as "political vengeance". One woman was seen weeping.
Jansa lost a confidence vote after only a year in office after allegations of tax irregularities by the national corruption watchdog and nationwide protests. The accusation added to public anger about a corrupt political elite just as the country of two million people struggles with recession and fights to avoid becoming the sixth eurozone member to need a bailout. Jansa's successor Alenka Bratusek has launched an action plan of privatisations and structural reforms and has secured two more years from Brussels to bring Slovenia's budget deficit under the eurozone limit.
The All-Slovenian Uprising, which organised protests against Jansa's government, welcomed Wednesday's verdict, calling it a "landmark decision in the process of cleaning the Slovenian political landscape. The million-euro Patria deal signed in for armoured vehicles was part of Slovenian efforts to modernise its military after joining the NATO alliance in , the same year it become a member of the European Union. Last September the contract fell foul of austerity cuts, with the government slashing the order to just 30 armoured vehicles for Weeks before parliamentary elections, a Finnish television report alleged that several high-ranking Slovenian officials, including Jansa, had had their palms greased by Patria.
