Former general and ex-assistant defence minister Vladimir Zagorec, sentenced to seven years' imprisonment for stealing jewels from the Defence Ministry, was conditionally released on Friday after serving more than two-thirds of his sentence.
The Zagreb County Court today allowed him to visit his family in Austria, said court spokesman Kresimir Devcic, while Zagorec's attorney Visnja Drenski Lasan would not speak to the press.
After returning from Vienna, expected within a fortnight, Zagorec has to report to the court.
The judge in charge can revoke the conditional release if the convict commits a crime or breaches the terms of release.
Zagorec's motion for conditional release was granted by the Justice Ministry early last week.
He had been in prison since October 2008, when Austria extradited him so that he could be tried for abuse of office and stealing jewels from a Defence Ministry safe in 2000 as he was leaving the post of assistant minister.
Zagreb's County Court sentenced him to seven years in March 2009 for stealing the jewels worth US$ 5 million. The Supreme Court upheld the ruling in November 2009, when the once most decorated Croatian general was stripped of his rank and decorations.
His attorney said earlier Zagorec was a model prisoner, making the conditional release logical.
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