ZAGREB COUNTY COURT APPROVES MARTINOVIC'S EXTRADITION TO ICTY

ZAGREB, June 8 (Hina) - The Zagreb County Court on Tuesday approved a request by the International Criminal Tribunal for Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) regarding the extradition of Vinko Martinovic- Stela, indicted for crimes against humanity, grave violations of the Geneva Conventions and the violation of the customs or laws of war. The defendant and his attorney have the right to file a complaint against this ruling within eight days from its announcement, the Zagreb County Court said in a statement. The Zagreb County Court said it approved Martinovic's extradition to The Hague Tribunal since all legal preconditions from Article 20 of the Constitutional Law on Cooperation Between Croatia and the ICTY had been met. The Zagreb County Court today also accepted Martinovic's proposal that the proceedings on his extradition to The Hague be conducted separately from the proceedings on the hand-over of the main indictee, Mladen Naletilic-Tuta, whose extradition the ICTY also demands. Martinovic put forward this proposal because Naletilic was unable to attend the proceedings due to illness. The Zagreb County Court will schedule a session on Naletilic later on, said the statement signed by Zagreb County Court President Miroslav Sumanovic. (hina) rml