Stjepan Tudjman has filed a defamation suit with the Zagreb Municipal Court after Mesic accused him in the book "President Citizen" last year of losing a bag full of money raised for the defence of Croatia.
"Milan Kovac and Stjepan Tudjman lost a bag with money raised for defence purposes en route from Zagreb airport, reporting the bag stolen. I was party secretary at the time and found it strange. I thought that the theft should be reported to the police so that the money could be found and returned. But (Franjo) Tudjman told me to leave it and forget about it," Mesic said in the book.
Mesic later confirmed this statement to the media.
The Constitutional Court rejected the request to strip Mesic of immunity, citing a provision in the Constitution saying that the President of the Republic enjoys inviolability, that he cannot be placed in detention and that no criminal proceedings can be instituted against him without prior approval from the Constitutional Court.