Police in Croatia say a nun who claimed she was stabbed by a migrant fabricated the story. The announcement followed several days of public speculation and political debate over the reported attack.

A four-day investigation by authorities determined that the woman, a 35-year-old member of a Catholic religious order, inflicted the injury on herself with a knife she had bought at a store in the Zagreb area, the Zagreb Police Department said.

The incident drew international attention after reports that the attacker was a migrant who shouted “Allahu akbar” during the alleged assault.

The nun, identified as Sister Marija Tatjana Zrno of the Sisters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul Croatia, had initially told police that an unknown man approached her and stabbed her, according to Catholic News Service.

She said she sought medical help afterward at the Sisters of Charity Hospital, where staff treated what doctors described as a non-life threatening wound on the abdominal wall.

The hospital said Zrno arrived at the surgical ward around 3 p.m. last Friday with an injury caused by a sharp object, as reported earlier by Net.hr. Medical staff said they provided treatment and alerted the authorities. She was discharged on Monday, according to the police report.

Police officers said they conducted interviews with multiple people as soon as they learned of the reported injury, which led to the opening of a wide criminal investigation. Officers carried out a series of investigative steps to establish the circumstances surrounding the stab wound and to determine whether a crime had occurred.

The nun filed a criminal complaint on Monday against an unknown perpetrator, alleging attempted grievous bodily harm, the police said. In the complaint, she repeated her account that an unknown man stabbed her and fled, prompting her to seek medical care at a local hospital.

As officers reviewed evidence and gathered operational information, investigators identified inconsistencies that raised doubts about the accuracy of her account. The department said the investigation found that she had falsely reported the crime with the intent of misleading police, despite being aware that filing a false report is a criminal offense.

Police determined that she had purchased the knife herself at a store in the Zagreb area and used it to injure herself.

The department said officers will file a criminal complaint against the nun with the Municipal State Attorney’s Office on suspicion of filing a false criminal report under Article 304, paragraph 1, of Croatia’s Criminal Code.

After officers concluded that the injury was self-inflicted, they summoned emergency medical services from the city of Zagreb Institute for Emergency Medicine. A doctor ordered that the woman be transported to a medical facility to receive needed care.

The Ministry of Science, Education and Youth contacted the school where the nun teaches religion to arrange a psychological crisis intervention team for colleagues and students.

A priest, Fr. Stjepan Ivan Horvat, posted on Instagram during the early speculation period that he had seen public calls for vengeance and urged Catholics to avoid such reactions. He shared verses from the Gospel of John, including, “If the world hates you, realize that it hated me first.”

News Source : https://www.christianpost.com/news/croatian-nun-fabricated-stabbing-claim-police-say.html