"Serbia on Thursday sent a request, via the Justice Ministry, that the extradition detention for Tihomir Purda be prolonged to the maximum period possible, namely to 40 days. The request was sent so that Serbia could forward the documentation necessary for the decision on his extradition," spokeswoman for the Bosnian court Selma Hadzic said.

Hadzic explained that the State Court decided today to grant Serbia's request and prolong the extradition detention for Purda, Croatian veteran arrested on 5 January at a border crossing between Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina on an international warrant issued by Serbia.

He was placed in 18-day detention and today his detention was extended by 22 days, which is the maximum period the Bosnian authorities can keep a suspect in extradition custody.

If Serbia fails to forward the necessary documentation to the Bosnian court before the expiry of the 40-day period, Purda should be automatically released.

Serbian Justice Minister Snezana Malovic said on Thursday if Croatia decided not to request Purda's extradition, Serbia would.

The Office of the Croatian Chief State Prosecutor (DORH) said on Thursday that the results of preliminary inquiries and other investigative steps showed that there were no grounds for launching criminal proceedings against Purda.

Purda would later today give a statement to the Bosnian Prosecutor's Office, at DORH's request, and respond to the charges filed against him by the Serbian judiciary.

The hearing will be held because the Croatian authorities did not officially inform the authorities of Bosnia and Herzegovina that Croatia would not request Purda's extradition.