Van Staa, who at the time when he was the Governor of Tyrol gave Sanader a high decoration, told a local newspaper Sanader felt that he was a "political victim" and that he tried to convince him that the accusations against him were unfounded.

In his interview with the Tiroler Tageszeitung paper, van Staa expressed doubt that Sanader would have a fair trial in Croatia, saying that as chairman of the Congress of European Municipalities and Regions he would state his position on the matter before the Council of Europe.

As a politician I have always respected him because of his pro-European and pro-minority orientation. He also always encouraged the development of relations between Croatia and Tyrol, said van Staa, a senior official of the ruling Austrian People's Party.

Van Staa's 30-minute meeting with Sanader in the prison in Salzburg on Tuesday was also attended by the local prosecutor and Sanader's brother Miroslav, who lives in Innsbruck, said APA.

Tiroler Tageszeitung said that van Staa has known Sanader since the time when he was a city councillor in Innsbruck, where Sanader lived for 14 years.

The former Croatian PM has been in extradition custody in Austria since December 10 when he was arrested on a Croatian warrant issued on the suspicion that he was involved in corruption. Austrian authorities too have launched an investigation into Sanader on suspicion of money laundering involving a Tyrolean bank.