Court orders international arrest warrant for Zdravko Mamic

Petar Glebov/PIXSELL

An international arrest warrant for the convicted football boss Zdravko Mamic will be issued, and he will be listed on Interpol's website, county court in the eastern city of Osijek confirmed on Tuesday.

In a widely publicised court case, Mamic had been sentenced to 6.5 years in prison last week after a year-long trial which saw him and his three co-defendants found guilty for diverting transfer fees from Dinamo Zagreb football club, and tax evasion. A dual citizen of Croatia and Bosnia, left for the neighbouring Bosnia and Herzegovina the day before sentencing.

On Tuesday, the county court in Osijek formally ordered the local police to issue an international arrest warrant, Dnevnik.hr reported. For EU territories, a European arrest warrant has also been issued, the court confirmed.

Mamic found refuge in the Bosnian town of Medjugorje, a popular pilgrimage site for Catholics. Bosnia does not usually extradite its citizens, although the international warrant means the Bosnian police must bring in Mamic for questioning, requiring him to say whether he agrees to be extradited to Croatia.