Former Croatian PM Ivo Sanader released from prison

His lawyer, Dragan Crnkovic, explained that all legal conditions for Sanader's release had been met, including his age and health, although the main reason cited was that he met all legal requirements. He had already served half of his sentence by 15 August 2023.

Sanader must now report monthly to the police, is prohibited from changing his residence without court approval, and is formally under the jurisdiction of the Zagreb County Court.

Crnkovic clarified that Sanader's movements are not restricted - he may travel freely, for example, to Split, but any permanent change of address requires permission.

He noted that the focus was on having the parole request granted, rather than on international travel plans. The probation office had issued a positive opinion, stating Sanader was "well provided for" and had sufficient means, including a pension he has received since 2011.

Sanader's conviction history

Sanader was sentenced to a total of 18 years in prison in three separate cases: the Fimi Media case, which concerns the siphoning of money from state companies; the Planinska case, in which he was charged with bribe taking, and the INA-MOL case, in which he was charged with enabling the transfer of management rights in INA to Hungary's MOL in exchange for bribes.

He spent nearly nine and a half years behind bars in total. In the Croatian penal system, parole can be requested after serving half the sentence, but is typically granted after two-thirds.

Sanader was continuously imprisoned from April 2019 after the Supreme Court increased his sentence in the Planinska case to six years. In that case, former businessman and HDZ MP Stjepan Fiolic testified he delivered HRK 10 million (€1.33 million) and EUR 1 million in bribes to Sanader.

In mid-October 2021, the Supreme Court partially upheld the verdict from the retrial in the Fimi Media case, under which the HDZ party had to pay a fine of 3.5 million kuna (approx. €470,000) for siphoning money from state institutions and companies. Sanader's sentence was reduced from eight to seven years in prison, and he was ordered to return illicit gains.

At the end of October 2021, the Supreme Court upheld the first-instance verdict sentencing Sanader to six years in prison for accepting a bribe from the head of Hungarian MOL, Zsolt Hernadi, while Hernádi, who remains unavailable to Croatian authorities, was sentenced to two years.

In a series of long-running proceedings, Sanader was acquitted in October last year - in a retrial - of charges of war profiteering in the Hypo affair, for which he had been convicted twice in earlier trials.

Another acquittal of Sanader - in a case involving the sale of cheap electricity to Robert Jezic's company Dioki, to the detriment of the state-owned HEP power company - was upheld by the Supreme Court in mid-November 2021.