Croatia's supreme court rejects former spy chief's appeal against extradition to Germany
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The Croatian supreme court has rejected an appeal against the extradition of the country's former spy chief, who is wanted in Germany for allegedly masterminding the murder of a Yugoslav dissident in 1983.
Tuesday's ruling means that Josip Perkovic will be handed over to German authorities within 10 days. The dissident, Stjepan Djurekovic, was killed in Germany, allegedly by the Communist Yugoslav secret service.
Perkovic was a ranking Yugoslav secret service official in the 1980s. He created Croatia's spy agency after the Balkan country split from Yugoslavia in the 1990s.
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Croatia, which joined the EU in July, initially refused to extradite Perkovic, citing local laws banning the handover. Under EU and German pressure, Croatia amended its laws in line with the bloc's standards.