Investigating judge Zdenko Posavec decided that brothers Franjo and Miroslav Katavic, whom prosecutors charged with possessing equipment used for document forgery and illegal arms possession, should remain in custody for one month. Franjo Katavic is also charged with forging the passport for the fugitive general Gotovina, who is wanted by the UN war crimes tribunal in The Hague.
The chief of the investigation department, Mirjana Rigljan, told reporters that a former Zagreb policeman, Salih Fazlic, and lawyer Marijan Pedisic were charged with inciting the brothers to forge Gotovina's passport, which the media already speculated about over the weekend.
The four men will be investigated and after that the prosecution will decide on further steps.
An investigating judge on duty questioned the Katavic brothers on Friday when both refuted the allegations. Miroslav Katavic presented his defence, while Franjo stood mute. They will remain in custody due to a possibility that they might influence witnesses. Franjo Katavic is also detained due to a possibility of repeating the crime.
Judge Posavec, who was subsequently appointed to conduct the enquiry, will question Pedisic, Fazlic and witnesses.
Lawyer Pedisic, who is a member of the defence team of General Gotovina, told Hina that he "has absolutely no connection with" the alleged forgery of Gotovina's passport and that he would appear before a court when summoned.
According to unofficial reports, Fazlic was employed with a Zagreb police crime scene investigation team and was retired in 2001. The police suspect that Pedisic asked him to obtain a forged passport for his client Gotovina and that he then engaged Franjo Katavic to do the job. Katavic already had criminal records for document forgery.