Over 1,000 supporters of Jansa held a peaceful protest outside the prison in Dob, calling out his name and holding up Slovenian flags and banners saying: "Freedom for Janez Janša, freedom for Slovenia". "He is the only one who can save Slovenia and its economy. All others are only lying," one elderly supporter told national TV channel TV Slovenia.

Janša, who served as prime minister from 2004 to 2008 and from 2012 to 2013, was convicted for bribery in a 2006 arms deal. He was sentenced a year ago and his appeal was rejected in April. He had denied taking money in the planned purchase of 135 armoured vehicles from Finnish defence group Patria in 2006 while he was the prime minister. The deal was eventually cancelled. Janša is hoping the Supreme Court will overturn his sentence, but it is not clear when the court will make a decision on his appeal.

He still plans to run for parliament in a snap election on July 13 although he would not be confirmed as a parliamentary member if he wins a seat because of his prison sentence. He says his prison sentence is aimed at preventing his centre-right Slovenian Democratic Party (SDS) from taking power after the election. "The decision of the court which passed this sentence and confirmed it cannot be respected but has to be acknowledged because I respect the Slovenian state," Janša said earlier this week.

Slovenia narrowly avoided an international bailout in December by pumping some 3.3 billion euros into local banks to prevent them from collapsing under the weight of bad loans built up through years of reckless lending. The outgoing centre-left government expects the economy to expand by 0.5 percent this year thanks to higher exports after two years of recession.

The country will hold its second snap election in a row in July after Prime Minister Alenka Bratušek resigned in May following her defeat in a challenge for leadership of the Positive Slovenia party.

Reuters