Vladimir Zagorec has been freed and we are happy about it, his lawyer Jozef Schartmueller said upon his client's release.
"We shall now try to prove that there is no ground for the arrest and that accusations from the Croatian side are groundless and that his apprehension has certainly had a political character," the lawyer said announcing that he would hold news conference on Monday.
Leaving the prison in Vienna, Zagorec declined to speak to Croatian reporters and referred them to his lawyers.
After a hearing on Thursday, Investigating Judge Christina Forsner set five conditions for Zagorec's provisional release - not to flee, to stay at his Austrian address, to report any change in his whereabouts to the court, to hand in his passport and to pay bail of one million euros. Today, the last condition was met.
During the hearing, Zagorec opposed his extradition to Croatia, and his refusal means that the procedure may take some time given that Croatia's Justice Ministry is now expected to send all the necessary documentation to the Austrian judicial authorities. The investigating judge will have a final say on the matter.
The retired general, arrested on Tuesday evening on an international warrant, is suspected of abuse of office, namely that in 2000 he took from a Defence Ministry safe jewels he had received from a German arms dealer in 1993 as collateral for five million US dollars from the Croatian Defence Ministry intended for the purchase of weapons for Croatia's defence.
Zagorec has been living in Austria for seven years. The Austrian press reports he owns a few companies there and that he has taken a loan of some 30 million euros for his business in that country.