At his first appearance before anti-corruption agency USKOK investigators, former Croatian prime minister Ivo Sanader denied all accusations against him in the Fimi Media case, Sanader's lawyers told reporters on Thursday after a two-hour interrogation held in the Remetinec prison, adding that Sanader would continue presenting his defence on Wednesday when he is expected to answer to bribe-taking charges in the Hypo bank case, in which he is suspected of receiving a 3.5 million kuna commission from the bank in exchange for selecting the Austrian bank to grant a loan to Croatia.
Leaving the Remetinec prison, where the interrogation was held instead of at the USKOK building because Sanader injured his leg, one of Sanader's lawyers, Cedo Prodanovic, said that after presenting a "well-argued and convincing defence", the ex-PM suspected of numerous corruption-related crimes declined to answer questions by two USKOK prosecutors.
"This was in accordance with our instructions, because we did not come here to reveal the truth to the prosecutors. The prosecutors are here to establish the truth, we are here to defend him and we do not wish to make their job easier in any way," Prodanovic told reporters covering the criminal prosecution of the highest ranking Croatian arrestee.
The lawyer said the defence would soon get the right to go over the file, adding that this would not change the tactics because "Sanader is aware of the charges are and he especially knows what he did."
Prodanovic said that not a single "new piece of paper and document" could shake his previously made statements and the defence team, depending on the documentation in the file, would develop a strategy and make preparations for the continuation of the process.
There were no surprises during the presentation of Sanader's defence, the lawyer said, adding that Sanader presented his defence "very convincingly and with a lot of arguments". The lawyer, however, said he could not revel other details due to confidentiality regulations. "In processes like this one, there are hardly any surprises, everything is known in advance," he added.
Prodanovic could not say exactly how long Sanader's defence would last in all proceedings, given that several anti-corruption investigations have been launched against him.
The most important thing right now is to deal with Sanader's health problems, namely his leg injury, given that doctors have warned us that his symptoms indicate that his condition is more severe than it appears.
Despite the pain in his leg, he does not wish to look like a victim, but objectively he is not well, the lawyer said.
Prodanovic said that a prison doctor would examine Sanader tomorrow, adding that his client would most probably be checked by a specialist in another civilian medical institution.
