High-profile Zagreb lawyer Cedo Prodanovic has joined the defence team of former Croatian prime minister Ivo Sanader, who is in custody in Austria awaiting extradition to Croatia to face corruption charges, Prodanovic and lawyer Goran Suic, who has been representing Sanader from the outset, confirmed to press on Wednesday.
Sanader signed a power of attorney for Prodanovic on Tuesday. Prodanovic said that his client had pulled a leg muscle, but that he was otherwise in good shape and ready to return to Zagreb. "His leg is in a cast and he moves around in a wheelchair or on crutches. Everything else is fine," Prodanovic said.
Sanader has recently decided that he will ask for speedy extradition to Croatia. The District Court in Linz is due to discuss his extradition on June 21, after a court in Salzburg ruled on May 9 that he could be extradited. Sanader's Austrian lawyer Werner Suppan initially appealed against that ruling.
Prodanovic said that Sanader's extradition could be expected relatively soon, namely a few days after the appellate hearing.
Sanader was arrested in Austria on December 10 last year on a warrant issued by Croatia. He has been in custody in Salzburg since.
The former prime minister is wanted for abuse of position and powers in several cases, including his role in the privately owned marketing firm Fimi Media through which several million kuna was allegedly syphoned from government ministries and public companies, and his role in negotiations with Hypo Alpe Adria Bank on a loan for Croatia, when he allegedly received a commission of 3.5 million kuna.
Sanader is also under investigation in Austria for money laundering.
