Skare Ozbolt issued a statement on Monday evening saying that she and Chief Public Prosecutor Mladen Bajic had decided not to take part in the programme because of "the unfair behaviour of the host" who invited Gotovina's lawyers Luka Misetic and Marin Ivanovic contrary to his announcement.
The justice minister said that Misetic and Ivanovic "do not have the legitimacy to represent" the runaway general and that they were not recognised by the Hague tribunal as Gotovina's legal representatives.
Misetic said in a statement on Tuesday that Gotovina's team of lawyers had proved their legitimacy and that this fact arose from the decision by the Zagreb Municipal Court ordering the government to provide the team with the necessary documents for the preparation of the defence.
He recalled that Skare Ozbolt, while she was an opposition member of Parliament, was among the majority of parliamentary deputies who demanded that the necessary documents be made available to the defence team, and that after becoming justice minister she had implemented the government decision to deliver the documents to the lawyers.
The host of the television programme said at the start of the show that Skare Ozbolt and Bajic had been invited as guests but decided not to take part because of their "disagreement with the choice of guests".