The trial in the Fimi Media corruption case is to open on April 16, and among the 150 witnesses to testify will be the president of the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) party, Jadranka Kosor, and the party's entire presidency, Zagreb County Court judge Ivana Calic announced on Wednesday.
On trial will be the HDZ as a legal entity, its former president Ivo Sanader, former party officials -- spokesman Ratko Macek, treasurer Mladen Barisic and chief accountant Branka Pavosevic, and Nevenka Jurak, owner of the Fimi Media marketing agency, after which the case was named. They are charged with siphoning over 70 million kuna (9.3 million euros) from state companies and institutions into the HDZ's slush fund.
Barisic, Pavosevic and Jurak admitted their guilt, but did not reach a plea agreement with the prosecution as did the accused Anita Loncar Papes and Bojan Dimic, whose companies were used for siphoning off funds in collaboration with Fimi Media. Based on their plea agreements, Loncar Papes has been sentenced to 11 months in prison and Dimic to six months, and they have been ordered to pay back 3.8 million kuna (500,000 euros) in total.
The 500-page indictment in this case is one of the longest in Croatia's judicial history and the third one against former Prime Minister Ivo Sanader. Sanader is already on trial for war profiteering in the Hypo Bank case and for taking bribes in the INA-MOL case.
