Given that there is no legal basis for launching criminal proceedings against Purda in Croatia, the Osijek County Prosecutor's Office will not request the extradition of Purda, currently in extradition custody in Zenica, DORH said on its web site today.

DORH reports that it has also notified Serbia's war crimes prosecutors about this decision and delivered to Belgrade the findings of the preliminary inquiry and interviews conducted for this purpose.

In accordance with a bilateral agreement on cooperation in the prosecution of war crimes' perpetrators and perpetrators of crimes against humanity and genocide, signed by the Croatian and Serbian prosecutorial authorities, the Osijek County Prosecutor's Office recently received from Serbia a copy of a file accusing Purda of war crimes against wounded and sick people.

After that, preliminary inquiries were conducted and dozens of witnesses were questioned by county courts in Osijek, Zagreb, Split and Rijeka, and all available documentation was collected.

The results of the preliminary inquiries, testimonies and the collected documentation have given no reason to believe that there are any grounds for suspecting Purda and other people, under investigation by the Serbian prosecutorial authorities, of war crimes against the wounded.

Speaking to Serbia's Tanjug news agency in The Hague today, Serbian Justice Minister Snezana Malovic said she expected Croatia to say by tomorrow if it would seek Purda's extradition from Bosnia and Herzegovina, adding that if it did not, Serbia would do so.

Malovic said Purda's custody expired on January 23, as did the deadline to seek his extradition.

Purda's lawyer in Zagreb, Kresimir Krsnik, said he had launched proceedings for the release of his client from extradition custody in Zenica.

"If the crime was not committed in Croatia, then there was no crime," Krsnik told media.

He applauded DORH for having done a good and serious job in this case.