The County Court in Split, Croatia, refused to order investigative detention for Zoran Galic, deputy director of State Investigation and Protection Agency (SIPA), for whom the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina issued a red Interpol warrant, his legal representative Ivana Grizelj-Corluk told N1.

According to Grizelj-Corluka, a hearing was held on Monday at the Court in Split, at the request of the Prosecutor's Office and the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, demanding Galic's extradition.

“It was decided not to impose detention, and according to that decision, Galic is now a free man and can move freely. This decision will soon be officially confirmed,” Grizelj-Corluka added.

She also explained why such a decision was made.

“Galic is a citizen of Croatia, and it was impossible to establish that he was involved in the crimes he is accused of. What will happen next and what the procedures are when it comes to extradition will be decided by the Prosecutor's Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina”, Grizelj-Corluka said.

Galic has been unavailable to Bosnia’s law enforcement agencies for over a month, despite being under investigation by the BiH Prosecutor's Office since he left for Croatia just before he was supposed to be arrested.

On the other hand, the defense claims that he is on sick leave and that he will be treated in Croatia and that he did not escape from arrest.

Galic is accused of abusing his position as the director of the BiH Border Police and accepting a gift and being associated with tobacco smugglers.

Last week, the BiH Prosecutor's Office issued an Interpol red warrant, while Galic also sent a request for retirement, which was a point of contention at several sessions of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina on which no agreement could be reached.