At a hearing scheduled for 1500 hours Wednesday, the Zagreb County Court is expected to decide on the terms and conditions of the the release of former Prime Minister Ivo Sanader from investigating custody which is to take place by 0700 hours Monday, December 12, at the latest.
According to information from court officials, Sanader would be released by 12 December, only if his defence and the anti-corruption agency USKOK agree with bail and possible other measures aimed at ensuring Sanadar's attendance of the trial.
Sanader will appear before judge Kresimir Devcic at today's hearing closed to the public and his defence attorneys are expected to again offer a HRK 12.4 million bail.
"Just like we did in mid-October, we will offer the highest bail in the history of the Croatian judiciary and we hope this will be sufficient for our client to be released from custody," one of Sanader's lawyers Goran Suic told reporters. He added that Sanader learned about the Constitutional Court's decision from the media and that he was satisfied with it.
Regardless of what kind of a decision judge Devcic will make today, both parties in the process will have three days to appeal.
The HRK 12.4 million bail, consists of lien offered by Parliament Speaker Luka Bebic, Sanader's friends and former party colleagues Mario Zubovic and Jerko Rosin, and his wife Mirjana. Two other persons, including football player Tomo Sokota, offered a total of EUR 300,000 in cash.
USKOK declined to state what position it would take at today's hearing.
The Croatian Constitutional Court on Tuesday evening announced its decision under which investigative custody for former Prime Minister and Croatian Democratic Union leader Sanader must expire by 7 am on December 12 at the latest, and that in the meantime the investigating judge in charge of the case must decide on some other measure or measures to replace investigative custody and ensure Sanader's presence at the trial.
The Constitutional Court thus quashed an earlier decision of the Zagreb County Court to remand Sanader in custody, saying that the reasons stated in the decision were no longer sufficient.
Sanader was arrested in Austria on 10 December 2010 and extradited to Croatia on 18 July 2011.
Sanader has recently gone on trial at the Zagreb County Court for war profiteering in the Hypo bank case and for taking EUR 10 million in bribes to give the Hungarian oil company MOL the dominant position in Croatia's INA.
