Three judges of the high provincial court in Linz will decide at a public hearing before the provincial court in Salzburg on 21 June on the appeal against the the extradition of former Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader to Croatia, a spokesman for the Linz court court told the Austrian news agency APA.
On May 9, the Salzburg court approved Sanader's extradition to Croatia. Lawyer Werner Suppan, who represents Sanader in Austria, appealed, claiming that Sanader would not have a fair trial in Croatia. The appeal will be discussed on 21 June.
The court in Salzburg declined to release Sanader, aged 57, saying he was still a flight risk.
Sanader was arrested in Austria on 10 December, on a warrant issued by Croatia. He has been in custody in Salzburg since.
The Croatian judiciary suspects him of abuse of office. He is charged with having syphoned some 80 million kuna from public companies and ministries via the private Fimi Media company. He is also charged with receiving kickbacks amounting to HRK 3.5 million for the approval of a loan which Hypo bank gave to the Croatian government while he was Deputy Foreign Minister.
The Croatian anti-corruption agency USKOK is also investigating his role in illegal business deals between the Croatian power company HEP and the Dioki company.
Sanader is also being investigated, together with Dioki owner Robert Jezic, on suspicions that they tried to ensure unlawful gain of EUR 10 million for Jezic's company, specialised in petrochemicals and plastics production, at the expense of the state-run JANAF oil pipeline operator.
Apart from that, Austria has launched an investigation into Sanader on suspicion of money laundering.
