"President Tadic's position is well-known, that the Purda case and other similar cases should be dealt with by responsible ministries and the prosecutorial authorities of Serbia and Croatia, abiding by the legal systems of the two countries," the Office of the Serbian President told Hina, accusing Stanimirovic of misinterpretation.
Stanimirovic told Osijek Television on Wednesday evening that during a recent meeting of Serbia's leadership with Serbs living outside Serbia, President Tadic also discussed the case of Tihomir Purda, a Croatian war veteran who was arrested in Bosnia and Herzegovina on 5 January on a warrant issued by Belgrade, where he is wanted for alleged war crimes.
Concerning the Purda case, President Tadic said that Serbia would not deal with it if there was no other evidence but a statement the suspect gave in prison, the Croat Serb leader said.
Purda and his defence team say that evidence against him had been collected unlawfully, as his statement had been extorted under torture in a concentration camp in Serbia.
The Croatian prosecutorial authorities have established that there was no lead connecting Purda to any war crime.