OSIJEK, March 16 (Hina) - Antun Gudelj, accused of and convicted in absentia for assassinating the Osijek police superintendent, Josip Reihl-Kir, and another two persons on 1 July 1991, is currently in Australia, Gudelj's lawyer,
Nediljko Resetar, said at a news conference in the eastern Croatian city of Osijek on Friday. Two days ago, the Croatian Constitutional Court accepted Reihl-Kir's widow's appeal and rescinded the final ruling of the Supreme Court under which Gudelj was pardoned by applying the General Amnesty Act, and thus the Constitutional Court gave the case back to the latter court to reconsider it. Lawyer Resetar asserted today that the Constitutional Court "cannot abolish the amnesty granted to Antun Gudelj", as the application of the general Amensty Act meant the cancellation of the criminal proceedings against his client. "The ruling (of Supreme Court) is final, and it implies that the Constitutional Court can accept the constitutional appeal, establish that there is the violation of law, but it must not interfere into the final ruling of the Supreme Court, nor can the ruling be put outside force and have the proceedings returned to the initial stage," the lawyer claimed. He added his client was in Australia and did not ask for Croatia's
OSIJEK, March 16 (Hina) - Antun Gudelj, accused of and convicted in
absentia for assassinating the Osijek police superintendent, Josip
Reihl-Kir, and another two persons on 1 July 1991, is currently in
Australia, Gudelj's lawyer, Nediljko Resetar, said at a news
conference in the eastern Croatian city of Osijek on Friday.
Two days ago, the Croatian Constitutional Court accepted Reihl-
Kir's widow's appeal and rescinded the final ruling of the Supreme
Court under which Gudelj was pardoned by applying the General
Amnesty Act, and thus the Constitutional Court gave the case back to
the latter court to reconsider it.
Lawyer Resetar asserted today that the Constitutional Court
"cannot abolish the amnesty granted to Antun Gudelj", as the
application of the general Amensty Act meant the cancellation of
the criminal proceedings against his client.
"The ruling (of Supreme Court) is final, and it implies that the
Constitutional Court can accept the constitutional appeal,
establish that there is the violation of law, but it must not
interfere into the final ruling of the Supreme Court, nor can the
ruling be put outside force and have the proceedings returned to the
initial stage," the lawyer claimed.
He added his client was in Australia and did not ask for Croatia's
citizenship. As he has already been given the Australian
citizenship, it is questionable whether it will be possible to
extradite him in case of the renewal of the entire case, the lawyer
explained. He, however, mentioned a possibility of Gudelj's trial
in Australia.
In summer 1991 Gudelj shot the then Osijek police superintendent
Reihl-Kir and another two persons dead and injured the fourth
person in a car, while they were driving to hold negotiations with
rebel Serbs in Tenja (outside Osijek) on removing roadblocks and
normalising the situation in that part of eastern Croatia. He fired
30 bullets at them when they were at a police check-point.
(hina) ms