Croatia court backs ex-top spy's extradition to Germany

(ZAGREB) - Croatia's Supreme Court has approved the extradition to Germany of a former Yugoslav spy chief wanted for the 1983 murder of a dissident on German soil, his lawyer said Wednesday.

Zdravko Mustac's lawyer told AFP it was a "political extradition" and she would appeal to the European Court of Human Rights for a postponement on the grounds her client's rights were being violated.

Germany had sought to extradite Mustac under the European Arrest Warrant (EAW), which regulates extradition between European Union member states.

The issue of extraditing former spies sparked a row between the EU and Croatia right after the Balkan country joined the bloc in July.

Just days before becoming a member, Croatia changed its domestic law regarding European warrants.

The change in the law made it impossible to extradite people wanted for crimes allegedly committed before August 2002, the date the EAW was introduced.

The move left Croatia sharply at odds with its 27 EU partners, notably Germany, which was seeking the extradition of Mustac and his deputy, Josip Perkovic.

In the wake of the dispute with Brussels, Zagreb amended the law in October.

Perkovic was eventually extradited to Germany in January for his alleged role in the 1983 murder in the southern German town of Wolfratshausen.

But the case of Mustac himself has been subject to a lengthy legal back-and-forth.

A regional court said he should not be extradited as the case had expired under the statute of limitations.

But the Supreme Court, the country's top court, overturned this decision and sent it back to another regional court, which said the extradition could go ahead.

The Supreme Court has now confirmed this decision and Mustac could be in Germany within 10 days.

Local media have speculated that Zagreb was reluctant to extradite the two former top spies as they may hold compromising information on influential people in Croatia.

But the government has denied this, saying its aim was to protect veterans of the 1990s independence war from being investigated by the EU.