Zagorec Extradition Warrant Ready

Heads of Croatian police received official word on Vladimir Zagorec's arrest from Austrian police via Interpol.

This morning, the heads of Croatian police received official word on the arrest of former Assistant Minister of Defence Vladimir Zagorec from the Austrian police via Interpol. The Ministry of Justice has already prepared an extradition warrant.

"We received the notice on the arrest this morning through Interpol from the Austrian police. In accordance with due process, the Ministry of Justice is in charge taking the next step and sending an extradition warrant to the Austrian government," said Deputy Chief of Police Dubravko Novak. He added that he did not have any details on the arrest of the retired General Zagorec and that the Austrian colleagues had no obligation to inform them on the details.

The Ministry of Justice officials say that they have not yet received confirmation of the arrest from the Austrian judiciary.

"As soon as we get confirmation, we will send the extradition warrant," said Ministry spokeswoman Vesna Dovranic.

Unofficially, the warrant is already ready and whether or not it gets sent depends on Zagorec himself, too, i.e. it depends on whether he agrees to come to Croatia of his own free will or he legally contests the extradition.

Zagorec was arrested yesterday afternoon after the Croatian judiciary had issued an international arrest warrant. Today, he should make an appearance before an investigating judge, who should determine whether he will remain in custody or be released on bail.

Lawyer Kresimir Krsnik, who represents him in Croatian court, was not available today. The attorney office in Vienna pointed out yesterday that the charges made by Croatian authorities were "exclusively politically motivated." The office also dismissed the claim by the Croatian authorities that there was the danger that Zagorec remain in hiding, which was why the warrant was issued, and they pointed out that Zagorec had had a residence and work permit in Austra since 2000 and that he was living there with his family.

Based on these statements, Zagorec will most likely contest the extradition.

If, however, he is not successful, when he arrives to Croatia, he will immediately be taken into custody in the Remetinec prison, as the investigating judge of the Zagreb County court Erna Drazanic had ordered. The court brought charges against Zagorec for having taken the jewels given to him by a German weapons dealer in 1993 as a safeguard for the five million U.S. dollars, intended for the purchase of weapons, when he left the office of Assistant Minister of Defence in 2000.

The investigation against Zagorec will continue between March 27 and 29, when all the witnesses are scheduled to be heard, except Josef Rotheichner, the German weapons dealer who had allegedly given Zagorec two bags with the jewels. 

The media speculate that he might testify via video conference and that Zagorec's former friend Hrvoje Petrac and secretary Snjezna Siprak might appear before the court at the end of the month, as well as his former business associate Josip Ferek and former head of the Croatian Intelligence Service (HIS) Miroslav Tudjman. Speculation suggests that the witnesses might include a former Croatian Ministry of Defence employee who sometimes drove Rotheichner when he was in Croatia and former arms dealer Ferdinand Jukic, who publicly stated that he had held the jewels in question in his hand.