ZAGREB, July 23, 2019 – The former head of the Dinamo football club, Zdravko Mamić, on Tuesday lambasted the president of the Croatian Supreme Court, Đuro Sessa, accusing him of being “corrupt” and adding that he had proof.
The State Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina is scheduled to deliver its decision on Tuesday regarding Mamić’s extradition to Croatia where he and several others have been charged with siphoning about 200 million kuna from Dinamo.
Mamić fled to Bosnia and Herzegovina and is currently residing in Međugorje. He has adamantly claimed that this is a politically rigged case and that Croatian judges are corrupt.
“I’ll talk about names some other time and under different circumstances. I do not want to burden myself with additional criminal complaints, but I will certainly bring out the big guns when the time comes,” Mamić told reporters ahead of the court hearing in Sarajevo.
However, he did mention Sessa’s name. “One of those six judges is the corrupt president of the Supreme Court Đuro Sessa. I am telling him that he is an unfair, corrupt judge who… does not deserve to be the president of the Supreme Court,” Mamić said.
“Both he and I know he is corrupt and naturally I will prove that without any problems when the conditions for that are created,” Mamić added.
He added that he expects the Bosnian State Court will not extradite him to Croatia and that he bases his optimism on the prosecutor’s stance. “I believe that there is absolutely no reason for my extradition and I am optimistic regarding this court procedure,” he said.
He said the judiciary in Bosnia and Herzegovina functions without the influence of politics, unlike in Croatia.
Mamić’s defence team too believes that the court will not decide to extradite him. The final decision regarding the extradition is up to the country’s Justice Minister Josip Grubeša.
Croatia’s Justice Minister Dražen Bošnjakovic called for Mamić’s extradition in early June after Osijek County Court upheld a new indictment which Croatia’s USKOK anti-corruption office filed against Mamić and six others for defrauding Dinamo of 200 million kuna, ordering that he be placed in custody.
Last spring, the Osijek Municipal Court sentenced Mamić in another case to 6.5 years in prison pending appeal for siphoning HRK 116 million from the football club.
The day before the verdict was delivered, he took refuge in Međugorje. He holds Croatian and Bosnian citizenship.
On Tuesday, Judge Sessa said that he was shocked by Mamić’s claims.
“It’s absurd to even comment on claims by a fugitive. Apart from being shocked, it is not clear to me what his motive are for saying something like that,” Sessa told Hina.
More news about corruption in Croatia (alleged and real) can be found in the Politics section.
