Croatia says it has begun rounding up 10 football fans wanted in Greece on charges stemming from riots in August in which a Greek fan was killed before a Champions League qualifying match between AEK Athens and Dinamo Zagreb.
Four of the 10 were brought to court by police over the weekend; two were remanded in custody and the other two were ordered to remain in their place of residence and hand over their passports.
It was unclear on Monday whether the other six had yet been arrested.
AEK fan Michalis Katsouris, 29, was killed on August 7 during violent clashes between fans of the two clubs; 102 Dinamo Zagreb fans were arrested at the time and remain in Greek custody.
“A few days ago, we received notification from the Police Directorate that information had arrived from the Greek authorities, i.e. a European Arrest Warrant,” Croatian Justice Minister Ivan Malenica told Croatia’s public broadcaster on Sunday evening.
“These warrants were sent to the State Attorney’s Office, which is acting on them. Yesterday and today, certain arrests and proceedings were held before county courts. This is actually the first phase, the preliminary phase before deciding on the actual handover to the Greek authorities.”
Croatian lawyer Ljubo Pavasovic Viskovic said that if any of the 10 already faces criminal proceedings in Croatia, “they have a chance of not being extradited to Greece” given that the domestic judiciary has priority, but he said it was highly unlikely that Zagreb would refuse a European Arrest Warrant.
Source : Balkan Insight
