Miroslav Tudjman, former head of the Croatian Intelligence Service (HIS), filed a lawsuit against Letinic for suggesting in a report broadcast in a popular current affairs talk show on national television in March 2002 that he and the HIS had connections with the criminal underworld.
Zagreb Municipal Court Judge Marijan Bertalinic acquitted the journalist in May 2005, saying that defamation had been decriminalised by the amended Criminal Code and that journalists were criminally responsible only if found to have slandered someone intentionally.
"Ljubica Letinic acted unprofessionally, without verifying all the necessary information. Despite that, it was not her intent to harm the honour and reputation of Miroslav Tudjman," the judge explained then.
The judgement was overturned by the Zagreb County Court earlier this month on the grounds that Judge Bertalinic had failed to explain why there was no defamatory intent in the journalist's report.
In a retrial today the judge made the same decision as in May 2005.