Croatia to extradite former spy chief to Germany

ZAGREB: A Croatian court has ordered the extradition of Josip Perkovic, a former spy chief wanted in Germany for allegedly masterminding the murder of a Yugoslav dissident in 1983.

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. The spy agency allegedly took part in the killings of several anti-communist dissidents living abroad at the time.

Perkovic created Croatia´s secret service once the Balkan country split from Yugoslavia in the 1990s.Croatia, which joined the EU in July, initially refused to extradite Perkovic, citing local laws banning the handover. Under EU pressure, Croatia amended its laws in line with the bloc´s standards.

Perkovic´s lawyers say they will appeal the Wednesday court ruling.