Karadzic, who is on trial on charges of genocide and war crimes committed during the 1992-1995 Bosnian war, filed a request earlier this year for his legal representative to interview Zagorec on April 16. Zagorec is currently serving a seven-year prison term in Croatia for stealing jewels from a Defence Ministry safe.
Karadzic believes that Zagorec, who initially refused to talk to Karadzic's defence, was directly involved in arrangements regarding arms shipments that were sent from Iran via Croatia to the Bosnian Muslim forces in 1994/95. At that time, Zagorec served as assistant defence minister for procurement, production and supply. Karadzic claims that during that time thousands of tonnes of infantry and other weapons were smuggled from Iran and other Islamic countries to the Bosnian Muslim army through Croatia and that much of the weaponry ended up in the UN safe havens of Srebrenica and Zepa where it was used to attack and kill Serb civilians in the surrounding villages.
Karadzic said the interview with Zagorec was necessary because he had not verified such information in his earlier interview with the former director of the Croatian intelligence agency HIS, Miroslav Tudjman.