Croatian war veteran Tihomir Purda, who has been held in extradition custody in Bosnia since his arrest at the northern border crossing of Orasje on 5 January, was on Monday questioned by Bosnian prosecutors at the request of Serbian prosecutors who suspect him of war crimes, with his lawyer Josip Muselimovic stating that his client succeeded in proving that he had not committed any of the war crimes he was accused of.
After the questioning, held behind closed doors in Sarajevo, Muselimovic said that the interview had focused on the events of 5 November 1991 when, according to a Belgrade court, several Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) soldiers were killed on the outskirts of Vukovar, eastern Croatia.
"In our opinion, he (Purda) has absolutely proved his innocence regarding that event," Muselimovic said, adding that keeping Purda in custody after today's questioning represented "a gross violation of his fundamental human rights and freedoms."
The lawyer recalled that the defence team had appealed against the ruling by the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina approving his handover to Serbia.
I am confident that the Bosnian Court's Appeals Chamber will be acquainted with what Purda said today and that it will take into account his statement, although it is not bound by the law to do so, Purda's lawyer said alluding to the fact that when considering Serbia's request for Purda's transfer, the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina only takes into account the fulfillment of formal prerequisites and does not consider the grounds of the evidence available to the Serbian judiciary.
Muselimovic pointed out the distressing segment of Purda's testimony regarding the conditions in which he had been kept in Serbian concentration camps in Stajicevo and Sremska Mitrovica.
The Zagreb-based lawyer Kresimir Krsnik, who attended today's questioning of Purda in Sarajevo because he represents two other suspects in this case -- Danko Maslov and Petar Janjic -- said that he also expected the Serbian authorities to drop charges after hearing his clients.
According to Krsnik, Maslov and Janjic are to be questioned in Croatia on Thursday.
The lawyer said that he expected the discontinuation of the proceedings launched by Serbia and consequently Purda's release from custody after the questioning.
The spokesman for the Bosnian state prosecutorial authorities, Boris Grubesic, said today that Purda's questioning was a usual process, insisting that it was in no way connected with the decision-making in the proceedings regarding his extradition.
Serbian investigating judge Milan Dilparic, who attended Purda's hearing in Sarajevo today, would not speak to the press in Sarajevo.
