"The Greek Supreme Court today concluded the hearing on Petrac's appeal against the ruling of a court on Corfu which in early October approved his extradition, and we expect the final decision in seven days," said one of the attorneys, Marijan Pedisic, adding that he obtained information about today's hearing at the Athens court from Petrac's Greek attorneys.
Pedisic said that today was the first time that Petrac addressed the court since he was arrested and placed in custody in late August, to explain why the court should accept his appeal and turn down the extradition request.
Petrac explained his situation and provided evidence for his claims that he was a victim of a rigged trial in Croatia, Pedisic said, adding that Petrac's Greek attorneys had verbally amended the appeal against the Corfu court ruling. Pedisic added that he was not familiar with the details of Petrac's statement.
The Greek prosecutor, who represents Croatia in this case, opposed Petrac's appeal and asked the Supreme Court to confirm the ruling on Petrac's extradition.
If the Supreme Court upholds the extradition ruling, Petrac will no longer have the right to appeal and he can only file a lawsuit with the European Court for Human Rights in Strasbourg, which will not postpone his extradition. Pedisic, however, believes that the extradition could be delayed by the five-month prison sentence which Petrac received for illegally entering Greece and possession of a forged passport.
Along with the extradition procedure, the Greek judicial authorities will also deal with Petrac's asylum request which still has not been decided on. Petrac's attorneys claim that this request too was backed with extensive documentation proving that Petrac was a victim of political games in Croatia.
The Croatian authorities consider Petrac an important link and possibly the main financier of the network supporting runaway Croatian general Ante Gotovina, indicted by the Hague war crimes tribunal.
The 50-year-old Petrac was arrested in late August in the Greek port of Igoumenitsa on the basis of an Interpol warrant. He had been on the run since the kidnapping of General Vladimir Zagorec's teenage son in February last year. Croatia has sought his extradition on the basis of a ruling by the Zagreb County Court which sentenced Petrac to six years in prison pending appeal for conspiracy to kidnap Zagorec's son.