Mitya the arsonist will negotiate, 23-year-old will sit on the back bench

Mitja Virag, a 23-year-old man from Beltinci, has finally appeared before the court after nine months of legal proceedings related to the alleged arson of an old mill in the center of the village on November 16 last year. However, the preliminary hearing led by Judge Stanislav Jug was quickly postponed indefinitely. Virag’s defense attorney, Igor Weindorfer, raised concerns with the court, stating he had received the summons for the hearing only on August 13, just two days before the scheduled date. He requested the court to delay the hearing for eight days to allow proper preparation and potentially reach a plea agreement with the prosecution regarding possible admission of guilt. The case against Virag is being handled by the higher state prosecutor, Drago Farič. The judge, Jug, found reasons to reschedule the hearing himself. In judicial documents, he discovered police notes detailing statements made by witnesses who later withdrew their testimony during the investigation due to legally permissible reasons. Jug explained that these documents should not have been used in the trial process. As a result, he decided to issue a ruling on the admissibility of these documents, noting that both parties could appeal this decision. He anticipated that once the ruling becomes final, a new date would be set for the preliminary hearing, likely under a different judge. Details surrounding the fire remain largely unclear, except for what investigators from the local police department have determined. They believe Virag intentionally caused the fire, which started inside the mill through side doors. According to the investigators, Virag entered the building, set the fire, and fled. It is known that Virag occasionally stayed overnight in the mill as a transient. On the morning of the incident, he arrived by bicycle and, according to the investigators, deliberately started the fire. The blaze spread to the adjacent store and warehouse of the agricultural cooperative Sloga, causing an estimated half a million euros in damage. Virag was arrested shortly after the fire and faces up to eight years in prison if convicted. Virag is currently held in the detention unit of the Maribor prison. Earlier this April, following a decision by the Supreme Court, he was released from custody, but did not stay outside for long. In mid-May, he broke into the Zvezda guesthouse in Beltinci. This was not his first such incident; earlier last September, he stole 450 euros from the cash register of the same establishment. He was soon caught, fined, and returned to custody due to repeated offenses. Virag already has a criminal record. Last week, the district court in Sob, Natalija Goldinskij Husar, sentenced him to eight months in prison for attempting to break into a Mercator store and the Busko bar in Murska Sobota on May 20 last year. Although he did not complete the crimes, as he was detected by an alarm system, the court imposed a ten-month prison term after the conditional sentence from December 2024 was revoked. The verdict is not yet final, and the defense is expected to file an appeal. Virag is represented by the Sob lawyer Igor Weindorfer, who has received over 720,000 euros from the free legal aid mechanism (BPP) in the past three years. Previously, the Ljubljana law firm Kobentar received 765,000 euros from the same fund, according to data from the Supreme Court. The fire spread to the store and warehouse, resulting in an estimated half a million euros in damages. Investigators believe Virag intentionally caused the fire, entering the mill through side doors and setting it ablaze before fleeing. The fire then spread to the adjacent store and warehouse of the agricultural cooperative Sloga. The extent of the damage is estimated at around half a million euros. Virag was arrested shortly after the fire and faces up to eight years in prison if convicted. Virag is currently in custody at the Maribor prison's Sob detention unit. His legal team continues to seek ways to challenge the evidence presented against him, including the controversial police notes that were deemed inadmissible by Judge Jug. The case highlights ongoing tensions between the defense and prosecution, with the latter seeking a swift resolution while the former aims to secure a fair trial. The outcome of the upcoming hearing will determine whether Virag can negotiate a plea deal or face a full trial.