Mikulic was released from prison without anyone knowing. He was seen and recognised by a colleague from Serbia and Montenegro, who drove him to the Turkish border. Mikulic crossed the Iraqi-Turkish border at 1030 on Friday and contacted his parents. Initial reports indicated that he had headed for Istanbul, where he was supposed to take a plane to Zagreb.
Ljubicic told Hina over the phone there had been a change of plan and Mikulic arrived in Ankara this morning, where he was met by Croatian Embassy staff who Ljubicic said would give him all the help he needed.
Ljubicic said Mikulic would spend the night in the Turkish capital, head for Istanbul in the morning and then fly to Zagreb, where he is expected at 1510 hours.
Mikulic had been imprisoned near Um Qasr in southern Iraq at Bucca camp, where US troops detains foreigners, since early October. He had been suspected of spying US troops in Iraq. The US greenlighted his release last week.