The unidentified source at the ministry told Hina the United States was "very stingy" with information about Damir Mikulic, who was arrested a month ago on suspicion of espionage and placed in detention at the U.S.-run Camp Bucca military base.
"We haven't received any reply as to whether Mikulic asked for any help," said the source, adding the driver's legal status was also unclear, namely whether he was under U.S. military jurisdiction or under Iraqi jurisdiction as a civilian.
Following speculation that Mikulic was detained at Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad for video-taping U.S. military bases and routes he was passing with his truck, the Croatian Foreign Ministry and the U.S. Embassy in Zagreb confirmed on Friday that Mikulic was "alive and well" in the Bucca camp near Umm Qasr in southern Iraq, where U.S. forces keep foreign nationals.
The Croatian truck driver was detained by U.S. forces about a month ago for "allegedly collecting vehicle information and personal identification information beyond what is considered of general interest to tourists," the U.S. Embassy said.
Although the State Department has not said how Mikulic may be contacted, the Croatian ministry does not think this implies that Mikulic cannot be contacted at all, not even by the Red Cross.
According to information available to the Croatian Government, the U.S. forces were not treating Mikulic as a military person, but as "a civilian who found himself in an area of operations of U.S. military authorities".
Croatian Foreign Minister Miomir Zuzul discussed the Mikulic case with U.S. Ambassador to Zagreb Ralph Frank and over the phone with the U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for War Crimes Issues, Pierre-Richard Prosper, the ministry said in a press release on Saturday.
The ministry did not reveal other details of Zuzul's engagement in the case, saying it expected additional information and continued with activities within its scope to protect the interests of all Croatian citizens in the best possible way.