Presenting his closing arguments before the State Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina on Monday, Jelavic said he was confident the court would act autonomously and not give in to any pressure when handing down its judgment on Thursday. "I am confident the State Court will not turn into an institution of political retaliation against me."
Jelavic focused on prosecutor John McNair's accusations that he, when he served as defence minister of the Croat-Muslim Federation, did not direct the money which came from Croatia to Mostar into the Federation's budget. Jelavic said that at that time, there was no agreement between Croatia and Bosnia which would stipulate that.
Jelavic said he was not obliged to direct that money into the Federation's budget because the money was donated by Croatia as assistance to Croats in Bosnia. He added the donor paid the money to the beneficiary and that 1.16 million kuna was donated in 1998 alone.
Jelavic said the international community donated more than USD500 million to the Federation in 1997-8, when he served as federal defence minister, and that no amount of that figure was directed into the federal budget.
The panel of judges said earlier it would be the one to decide if the money which Croatia sent to Mostar should have been directed into the federal budget. The panel is expected to reveal its decision during sentencing.
Commenting on the prosecutor's accusations of manipulations of the Mostar-based Centre for Legal Assistance to Bosnian Croats accused by the Hague war crimes tribunal, Jelavic said he did not influence the Centre's work at all.
He said the Centre paid 1.119 million kuna to Anto Nobilo, who was representing Bosnian Croat Tihomir Blaskic, and that hundreds of euros were paid to several law firms which defended other Bosnian Croat indictees.
Jelavic also said the Centre paid tens of thousands of Deutschmarks to Croatia's Consulate in The Hague.
He added the Centre raised money under a decision by former Federation President Vladimir Soljic, under which Croats employed in the federal Defence Ministry and Bosnia's state institutions set aside two per cent of their wages to assist Bosnian Croats detained in The Hague and their families.
Jelavic said the key witness for the indictment against him was the temporary manager of Hercegovacka Banka, Toby Robinson, and that she deluded prosecutor McNair with her allegations.
Jelavic's dismissed Robinson's claims that he helped the Mostar-based bank acquire money. He said he was not part of the bank's governing bodies and did not affect the bank's operations.
"I have not damaged Croatia or the citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina," he reiterated a number of times.