Bosnia to extradite Croatian over murder

Bosnia has decided to extradite to Croatia a Serbian citizen accused of being involved in the murder of Croatian journalist Ivo Pukanic.

SARAJEVO, February 24, 2010 (AFP) - Bosnia has decided to extradite to Croatia a Serbian citizen accused of being involved in the murder of Croatian journalist Ivo Pukanic, the Justice Ministry said Wednesday.

Bojan Guduric, 29, is also wanted by Serbia, where he has been sentenced to a four-year jail term for other crimes, but Bosnian Justice Minister Barisa Colak gave priority to the Croatian case, Bosnian FENA news agency reported.

Guduric has been in hiding since a car blast in October 2008 killed editor-in-chief of Nacional weekly Ivo Pukanic and his marketing manager Niko Franjic. He turned himself in to the Bosnian police earlier this month.

A trial of six men accused of the murder, including Guduric, began before a Croatian court on February 3.

Four defendants pleaded not guilty, while Guduric and sixth defendant, Zeljko Milovanovic, were being tried in absentia.

Milovanovic was arrested in Serbia in October and charged in Belgrade for the same crime as he could not be extradited to Croatia for legal reasons.

According to the Croatian prosecutor, Pukanic was killed in order to stop him publishing stories on organized crime in the Balkans.