Croatian Supreme Court Frees Sanader on Bail

Ivo Sanader, the former Croatian Prime Minister, will leave custody prison in Zagreb after posting bail, following a Supreme Court ruling passed on Thursday.

Citing "substantial violations of the criminal procedure... and grave breaches of the right to fair trial", the court overturned his nine-year sentence and 2-million-euro fine imposed by the Zagreb County Court in March 2014.

He was found guilty in the case codenamed "Fimi media", in which a private marketing company was used to pump public funds from state institutions and companies.

Alongside him, his former party, opposition centre-right Croatian Democratic Union, HDZ, was found guilty as an organization as well and fined 4 million euro.

Due to the risk of escape, the court has prolonged his custody but has set a bail on 1.6 million euro. After he posts bail, either in money or assets, he is free to leave the prison where he has spent his time from November 2012.

A court decision on the fine against the HDZ is unclear for know. Sanader will get a retrial before the Zagreb County Court.

The Constitutional Court quashed his earlier final 8.5-years prison sentence for corruption and war profiteering given by supreme court in June 2014, citing procedural errors.

It this case, Sanader was found guilty of receiving 10 million euro in bribes for selling the energy company INA to Hungary's oil company MOL and for taking illegal fees in talks between Austria's Hypo Bank and the Croatian government between late 1994 and March 1995, during the war in Croatia.

Since his retrial was set for September, the County Court decided not to release Sanader from custody prison in August.

At the first hearing in September, Sanader's lawyers demanded that the president...