"There are hunger strikers in many countries, this is not an exceptional case, and it is not a problem which must be raised to a state level," Mesic told reporters in Brussels where he was attending a conference on Europe's Balkan partners, organised by the foundations of Konrad Adenauer and Friends of Europe and the Institute for Democracy 'Constantinos Karamanlis'.
European parliamentarian Doris Pack, who took part in the conference, told reporters that in her opinion the decision to release Branimir Glavas from custody was unusual, because now everybody could achieve the same if they decided to go on a hunger strike.
This (the release) was not done by the Government but by the judiciary. I think that it is the judiciary that should examine itself whether it acted well. I cannot assess that, but the public is a bit surprised at seeing that somebody being on hunger strike is released. This is for me unusual, and now all others can do the same, the German politician added.
Sources from the European Commission have said that the EU executive bases its reports on the Croatian judiciary on assessments of and insight in many individual cases. Some diplomats, however, do not rule out the possibility that the Glavas case may be used to exert pressure on Zagreb.