Branimir Glavas, the first Croatian politician to have been convicted for war crimes, addressed via videolink a meeting of the main committee of his HDSSB party held in Zagreb on Saturday, saying that he was innocent and that he would rather serve his eight-year sentence in Zenica prison in Bosnia and Herzegovina than spend a single day as a political convict in a Croatian prison.
Glavas reiterated that he did not recognise the verdict delivered against him by the Zagreb County Court, which has been recently upheld by the Supreme Court, insisting that his trial was politically motivated.
"The Supreme Court delivered a humiliating and politically-motivated compromise verdict against me," Glavas said, adding that he was not returning to Croatia which "has such a disgraceful judiciary and a disgraceful government."
"Had I committed the crimes for which I am convicted, I should have been given a maximum sentence of 20 years' imprisonment," Glavas said. "If there was any doubt about my guilt, then sentencing me to a single day in prison would have been too much."
Glavas said that the HDSSB was subjected to a campaign of persecution and that the ruling HDZ planned to destroy it. He added that the plan was initiated by former Prime Minister Ivo Sanader and was now being carried out by his successor, Jadranka Kosor.
Glavas also criticised the opposition, saying it was incapable of getting the country out of the economic crisis.
Before Glavas's address, HDSSB leaders said that the HDSSB was the strongest regional party in the country and that it was expecting excellent results at the next parliamentary election.
Glavas, who was sentenced to ten years in prison by the Zagreb County Court in May 2009 for war crimes against Serb civilians in Osijek in 1991, fled to Bosnia shortly before the court announced the verdict. The verdict was recently upheld by the Supreme Court, which reduced his sentence to eight years in prison.
Glavas holds both Croatian and Bosnian citizenship.
