The statement said that Purda's defence team had sent a well-argumented request to the members of the Bosnian Presidency Bakir Izetbegovic, Zeljko Komsic and Nebojsa Radmanovic, Bosnian Justice Minister Barisa Colak, and Croatian President Ivo Josipovic, asking them to "pay due attention to this issue, at their forthcoming meeting, so that possible irregularities in the Purda case are removed."

The attorneys said that criminal proceedings against Purda were launched on the basis of "evidence that was collected at the time of his captivity." They said that such evidence proved to be unlawful and recalled that after carrying out an investigation the Croatian authorities had established that their client's actions "do not contain elements of any criminal act, let alone elements of a war crime against wounded and infirm people."

The State Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina on Monday received a complaint lodged by Purda's defence counsel against a court ruling extending his extradition custody, and in the meantime Serbian authorities submitted documents which are necessary for making a decision on Serbia's request for Purda's extradition.

Last week the Office of Croatia's Chief State Prosecutor said that a preliminary investigation had revealed that there were no grounds for launching criminal proceedings against Purda, and since there were no legal grounds for his prosecution by Croatian authorities, the Osijek County Prosecutor's Office decided not to request his extradition from Bosnia and Herzegovina, where he was arrested on January 5 on a warrant issued by Serbian authorities, which want him on war crimes charges.

President Josipovic this past weekend told reporters that at his forthcoming meeting with members of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina he would also discuss the judicial cooperation between the two countries.