Croatia: Corruption suspect faces extradition

Croatia: Corruption suspect faces extradition

In her ruling, Judge Christina Forstner of the Vienna provincial court said there are no legal arguments preventing the extradition. She said the evidence she received from Croatian prosecutors and judicial officials was sufficient, and that the Croatian judiciary is independent, ensuring Zagorec will receive a fair trial.

The ex-minister has already appealed Forstner's decision, and will be allowed to remain in Vienna until a higher-level court decides on the case.

In March, Zagorec was arrested in Vienna, on the basis of an international warrant issued in Zagreb. A trial was launched in absentia. According to the indictment against him, the ex-minister illegally obtained diamonds from an arms dealer in 1993. At the time, Zagorec was tasked with circumventing a UN arms embargo to source weapons for the Croatian Army.

Details of the case became public during the December 2006 trial of Croatian businessman Hrvoje Petrac, who was charged with organising the abduction of Zagorec's son. Petrac told the judge about the illegal gems, and an investigation was launched. Zagorec then fled to his residence in Austria.

The former aide to the late President Franjo Tudjman is seeking political asylum in Austria, where he has lived on and off since 2000, running a construction business in Vienna. To date, his attempts have failed.

Zagorec is said to have become one of the wealthiest people in Croatia. He has tried to involve President Stipe Mesic in his case, meeting with presidential security adviser Sasa Perkovic in Vienna to work out a deal. However, the bid failed.

Zagorec claims that the case against him is politically motivated, and that he will not receive a fair trial. His lawyers have said they will appeal all the way to the Human Rights Court in Strasbourg, France.