WASHINGTON, Jan 23 (Hina) - The National Federation of Croatian Americans (NFCA) expressed sadness at and dissatisfaction with the fact that a decision which US President Bill Clinton adopted last Saturday on pardon did not cover
Zvonko Busic. "We know that top levels in the White House decided on the matter," NFCA President, Steve Rukavina, said on Tuesday. Last Saturday the outgoing US President Clinton pardoned 140 persons and lessened sentences for some 30 convicts. The name of Zvonko Busic was added to a list with over 360 names suggested to Clinton to parole. In 1976 Busic was sentenced to prison for an attempt to hijack a TWA passenger plane. The aggravating circumstance in his trial was that a police officer was killed in a blast of an explosive device left in a locker at New York's Grand Central Station during this action Croatian activists organised to attract the international
WASHINGTON, Jan 23 (Hina) - The National Federation of Croatian
Americans (NFCA) expressed sadness at and dissatisfaction with the
fact that a decision which US President Bill Clinton adopted last
Saturday on pardon did not cover Zvonko Busic.
"We know that top levels in the White House decided on the matter,"
NFCA President, Steve Rukavina, said on Tuesday.
Last Saturday the outgoing US President Clinton pardoned 140
persons and lessened sentences for some 30 convicts.
The name of Zvonko Busic was added to a list with over 360 names
suggested to Clinton to parole.
In 1976 Busic was sentenced to prison for an attempt to hijack a TWA
passenger plane. The aggravating circumstance in his trial was that
a police officer was killed in a blast of an explosive device left in
a locker at New York's Grand Central Station during this action
Croatian activists organised to attract the international public's
attention to problems of Croats in the then Yugoslavia.
The device was removed by New York City police after they were
notified of the bomb's existence by Busic. Evidence presented
before Judge Bartels during the trial raises serious issues as to
whether the police had been negligent in deactivating the bomb.
Nevertheless, one police officer tragically lost his life during
the deactivation process and thus Busic received a life sentence,
Busic served the largest part of his sentence in the Lewisburg
prison, Pennsylvania, and he was recently transferred in maximum-
security federal prison in Leavenworth, Kansas.
Several years ago, Croatia's authorities asked his amnesty or
proposed a possibility that Busic might serve the rest of his
sentence in Croatia, citing the humanitarian reasons for such a
move.
So far, some 200,000 people in Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina have
signed an appeal for his release.
NFCA issues a statement saying that Busic's release was also
demanded by five biggest Croatian American organisations - the
Croatian-American Association (CAA), the Croatian-American
Congress (CAC), the Croatian Fraternal Community, the Croatian
Catholic Community and NFCA.
Rukavina added that White House sources had given an explanation
that the refusal for Busic's pardon could be viewed as prospects for
his transfer to Croatia. According to the ruling, Busic should be
set free on 12 September 2006.
(hina) ms