Speaking in Nova TV's primetime news, Milanovic said the Interpol warrant for Purda was three years old and that the ministries of justice, the interior and war veterans knew he was in danger.

Purda was arrested in Bosnia and Herzegovina earlier this month on a warrant issued by Serbia, where he is wanted for war crimes. He is detained in the Zenica prison in Bosnia.

Milanovic said that when Croatia established that Purda was not guilty and that it would not prosecute him, "he should have been warned about the danger he was in. That's why I say that this is a 'betrayal' of a Croatian citizen. The state must show some minimum of care and loyalty to its citizens."

"This state has deceived him. Those who are parading now should take his place in custody in Zenica. If he's not guilty, then you have to protect him," said Milanovic.

He said the SDP did not comment on the Purda case as it was a sensitive subject and it always turned into some sort of manipulation with war veterans.

Commenting on Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor's statement that she did not invite him to talks on subjects important for Croatia because he said he knew nothing about the economy and that he was not interested, Milanovic said such statements were always conceived to start a quarrel and that they were constant provocations. He denied every saying those things.

"I concede that the prime minister and president of the HDZ (ruling party) is better than me in one thing when it comes to economic knowledge. She has shown that you can very efficiently get a flat without paying for it. I don't have that knowledge. I am paying for my flat and in this she's better than me."

Asked if he feared that some SDP members might become suspects after Interior Minister Tomislav Karamarko said in parliament that documentation had arrived from the US on a 2003 purchase of Daimler-Benz fire trucks, Milanovic said he was afraid of nothing and that he did not intend to defend himself from anything

"We have seen in parliament that the police minister and the HDZ MPs are playing staged ping pong. That's very dangerous. We won't look the other way. That's abuse of the repressive apparatus. Let them finally start with the accusations, let them investigate and finally say who allegedly received money from Daimler."

Milanovic claimed that it in the Daimler case in the US it was said that the money was allegedly paid until 2008, adding that the SDP was not in power since 2004.

He said all of the donations received by the SDP were transparent and were checked by the Tax Department. "We finance our campaigns legally, others with war loot," he said.