Summary: Rikard Frgačić explains the powerful connections acquired though Ivan Å imonović, who is himself connected to EPO Vice-President Željko Topić

IT HAS been almost a week since we last wrote about the thug or the bully called Željko Topić. He is still Vice-President at the EPO, which is rather amazing given the criminal charges that he faces and the generally outrageous background that he comes from, allegedly involving bribes and other serious abuses. Topić is Benoît Battistelli’s right-hand man, so Battistelli's tyrannical tendencies should come as no surprise (or conversely, the appointment by Battistelli should come as no surprise).

Rikard Frgačić has fought against Topić's abuses for quite a few years and his comments which he sent after we had covered his case highlighted an important name, which can see seen in the above document, implicating Željko Topić in addition to (potentially) Lufthansa.

The person in question (see above document) is Ivan Å imonović (E-mail address ivan.simonovic@hraste-partneri.hr) who describes himself as follows in his public VCARD (don't mind the relatively poor English):

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TEL;PREF;WORK;VOICE;ENCODING=QUOTED-PRINTABLE:+ 385 1 48 28 060
TEL;WORK;FAX;ENCODING=QUOTED-PRINTABLE:+ 385 1 49 21 195
N:;Ivan;Å imonović, dipl. iur.;;
FN:Ivan =C5=A0imonovi=C4=87, dipl. iur.
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NOTE;ENCODING=QUOTED-PRINTABLE:Date of birth: April 28th 1984=0D=0A

Place of birth: Zagreb, Croatia=0D=0A=0D=0AEducation:=0D=0AInternational Baccalaureate Diploma in 2002, United Nations International School, NY, NY=0D=0ADipl.iur. in 2009 Law Faculty at the Univeristy of Zagreb =20=0D=0A=20=0D=0AWork experience:=0D=0A2009- Lawyer trainee at Hraste & Partners law firm=0D=0A=0D=0ASpecialties and other interests:=0D=0AHelping attorneys in providing legal advice in various areas of civil and misdemeanor law=0D=0APreparing lawsuits and other civil actions=0D=0ACurrent activity of assisting in enforcement cases=0D=0AExcellent knowledge of English language in reading and writing=0D=0APassive knowledge of Franch language in reading and writing=0D=0AUse of MS Office packages=20=0D=0ADrivers license B category (car)=0D=0A=0D=0AMembership:=0D=0A2004 - ELSA (European Law Students Association), 2004-2005 President of ELS= A Zagreb, 2005-2006 President of ELSA Croatia=0D=0A2009 - Membership in the Association of lawyer trainees with the Croatian Bar Association=0D=0A=0D=0A

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Mr. Frgačić has highlighted to us a very curious connection. Putting aside the United Nations International School (New York), as can be seen above, Frgačić urged us to "note one family name on memo-sheet of lawyer paper (on the bottom) Hraste & Partners in my article [response]. Named Ivan Å imonović, he is a son of the assistant secretary of Ban-Ki-moon, gen. Sec. of UN in New York. His father has the same name.

"By the way, Ivan Å imonović assumed his functions as Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights on 17 July 2010, heading OHCHR’s New York Office.

"Topić has a lot of power (to abuse) because he is conveniently connected to rather powerful people.""If you follow Croatian diplomatic network you will found his wife (or his mother) Dubravka Å imonović in Croatian UN & OSCE mission in Vienna (see Diplomatic Missions and Consular Offices of Croatia).

"Its means that this "company" have (Željko Topić friends) cover at 3 UN head points - Vienna, Geneva and New York. This political and horror theme may be published in a stronger daily newspapers or weekly magazines.

"As you see, it's not a joke or desert mirage..."

Topić has a lot of power (to abuse) because he is conveniently connected to rather powerful people. A lot of people wrongly assume that because he came from Zagreb he is lagging on the influence front. Over the telephone Frgačić repeatedly told us that Topić is a dangerous man. ⬆