"We will send a rush note to the Canadian authorities because they haven't replied to the extradition request we sent in February 2001," Justice Minister Vesna Skare-Ozbolt told Hina on Monday.
Some Croatian media have recently published as exclusive news that Budimcic has been found to be living peacefully in Canada, but that was no news to the Croatian judiciary.
"We requested the extradition but received no answer," the minister said, recalling that Budimcic had been under investigation by the Canadian Royal Police department for war crimes.
Four Canadian investigators visited the eastern Croatian city of Osijek in early 2001 to obtain from the county court additional information about the war crimes Budimcic was charged with. During the war, Budimcic was a member of Serb paramilitary units. The investigators also questioned several witnesses, Croatian soldiers who had been mistreated while detained in 1991.
"We don't know if and how the Canadian investigation ended, or if it's the reason why our request hasn't been answered yet," said Skare-Ozbolt.
Budimcic was sentenced in absence to 15 years' imprisonment in 1995. The Supreme Court quashed the conviction at the request of counsel. A retrial was held in 1996 and Budimcic was again given a 15-year jail term for the killing and disappearance of Croatian soldiers in the Slavonia region in 1991.
Budimcic resided in eastern Croatia until 1995 and worked there also as a mechanic for a Canadian battalion during the UN's mandate in the area. He emigrated to Canada and in 1997 applied for citizenship, after which the Canadian investigation was launched.
When Croatia requested his extradition, the Ottawa Citizen daily wrote that Budimcic was living near Weyburn, Saskatchewan, with his wife and two children. A local TV station in the city of Victoria has recently said that Budimcic has been living on Saltspring island in British Columbia for nearly two years.